The Sharks return to SAP Center today to start a six-game home stand against the New York Rangers after falling to the Coyotes on Thursday night.

Although neither team has locked up a playoff berth yet, both San Jose and New York are shoo-in’s for the playoffs this season but are coming off losses that certainly left a bad taste in their mouth. The Sharks were defeated by Arizona 3-1 on Thursday night after having goals by Dainius Zubrus and Chris Tierney waved off by a coach’s challenge and the NHL Situation Room in Toronto, respectively.

375 miles west the Rangers were up 3-1 on the Kings in the third period before goals by Kyle Clifford and Anze Kopitar sent the game into overtime, where the Kings won when Kopitar redirected a Jake Muzzin shot. With two different performances that resulted in the same outcome, it will be interesting to see what team gets up (literally) for today’s game.

Tale Of The Tape

	@
40-23-8	Record	39-25-6
2nd in Metropolitan	Rank	3rd in Pacific
48.8	Score-Adj. Fenwick	52.9
102.6	PDO	100.2
18.2	PP%	22.0
77.4	PK%	79.2

1PM PDT | SAP Center | San Jose, California

TV: CSN-CA, MSG+ | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX

Know Your Enemy: Blueshirt Banter

Last Meeting

The Sharks skated into Madison Square Garden back on October 19 and had no answer for Antti Raanta and the Rangers who blanked San Jose 4-0. Marc Staal and Jesper Fast had a goal and assist each for the Broadway Blueshirts.

Storylines:

• No update have been given regarding the health of Matt Nieto and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who both left Thursday’s game after being injured. Some lines could be juggled for Tommy Wingels to take Nieto’s spot if Wingels returns from his own injury. Regarding the open defenseman spot, the Sharks could call up Dylan DeMelo or Mirco Mueller (a left-handed shot) from the Barracuda to fill that hole.
• The Ducks defeated Boston 4-0 on Friday night, extending their lead over San Jose to three points for second place in the division. The Sharks will need a win today if they want to keep pace with Anaheim for home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
• New York has won the last three meetings between the two teams by a combined score of 11-1, defeating San Jose 4-0 twice in Manhattan and 3-1 in the Bay Area.