Sharks vs. Jets Preview: Why not six?

The Sharks scored five goals, Patrick Marleau scored four of them and San Jose won its fifth game in a row for its longest win streak of the season. Now is the time to get greedy. San Jose finishes its road trip by playing the second of a back-to-back in Winnipeg at 5 p.m. PT.

This is the second of three meetings between the two teams. San Jose whooped the Jets 5-2 on Jan. 16 to begin its five-game winning streak and a win tonight can extend its season-long streak. The Jets, meanwhile, have not been of much service to the Sharks. They lost to the Ducks at home on Monday after losing to the Kings last week.

So San Jose certainly doesn’t owe Winnipeg any favors. The Jets are three points out of a wild card spot and are tied with the Kings at 48 points as the All-Star break approaches. They were without Patrik Laine when these teams last met, but the rookie sensation could return on Tuesday. That’s bad news for the Sharks but great news for the hockey fan inside all of us.

Timo Meier returned from injury for San Jose on Monday but the Sharks were bit by the injury bug again as Joonas Donskoi went to the locker room early against the Avalanche holding his right wrist. Head coach Pete DeBoer didn’t have an update on him after the game but I’d rule him out tonight and pencil Ryan Carpenter into the lineup after he was healthy scratched against Colorado.

You can probably assume Aaron Dell will get into the game, too. DeBoer will want to use Martin Jones against Edmonton on Thursday and, god willing, won’t find a reason to play Jones in a road back-to-back against two bad teams in the middle of January. Right?

Right.