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In a huge game for both parties, the San Jose Sharks (44-23-9, 2nd Pacific) will visit the St. Louis Blues (42-28-5, 5th Central) for their second Central Division road game in as many nights. While the Sharks seem solidified in second place in their division thanks in no small part to an active eight game winning streak, the Blues are on a streak of their own: five wins and counting have set St. Louis just one point back of the Colorado Avalanche for the second Western Conference wild card spot with a game in hand.
Stop me if you've heard this before, but after selling a big piece of their roster at the trade deadline, the Blues continue to compete for a post season berth. This time around, goal tender Jake Allen isn't waiting for the first round to catch fire: with a record of 7-1-0 in his last eight, Allen has recorded a goals against average of 2.12 and a save percentage of .919. Further, his 3-0-0 record and his 1.00 GAA and .961 save percentage through three contests were good enough for the honor of the NHL's second star of this past week.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, the Blues are in the business of ending record setting winning streaks this month. St. Louis' most recent win, a 2-1 victory in Columbus, halted a ten game Blue Jackets winning streak that began on March 4 in San Jose. The two Western wild card spots are up for grabs, and one of the Blues, Avalanche, or Los Angeles Kings will be left out, so every two points are huge for St. Louis.
The Sharks' eight game streak has done little to close the gap with the first place Vegas Golden Knights, still six points ahead, but it's opened up a symmetrical six point gap with the third place Anaheim Ducks. Extending that streak to nine would do more than pressure the Knights, it would tie the Sharks' second longest streak in franchise history, last achieved in December 2008. Head coach Peter DeBoer's assertion that most of the credit for the streak should go to goaltender Martin Jones could be put to the test tonight, as Aaron Dell is likely to start. The Sharks had no morning skate today, however, so that's far from certain.
After an occasionally exciting 4-3 shoot out win over the tragic Blackhawks in Chicago last night, the Sharks will need to dig deep to come out atop a desperate Blues team tonight.
Go get 'em.
Sharks Lines
Evander Kane -- Joe Pavelski -- Melker Karlsson
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Jannik Hansen -- Barclay Goodrow -- Joel Ward
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Aaron Dell
Martin Jones
Scratched: Tim Heed, Marcus Sorensen
Injured: Joe Thornton (knee), Joonas Donskoi (upper body), Eric Fehr (lower body), Joakim Ryan (upper body)
Again, no morning skate for our boys tonight so they can rest up for the evening's festivities, so treat these as a hypothesis until closer to puck drop.
Blues Lines
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund -- Kyle Brodziak -- Alexander Steen
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Tage Thompson
Ivan Barbashev -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Chris Thorburn
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Vince Dunn -- Colton Parayko
Jordan Schmaltz -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Scratched: Scottie Upshall
Injured: Nikita Soshnikov (upper body)
According to head coach Mike Yeo, Upshall is healthy, but will need a few more practices before he's ready for game action.
Where to watch
Broadcast: NBCSCA, FS-MW
Stream: NHL.tv / NHL App
Radio: 98.5 KFOX / NHL App / Sharks App