After starting the 2015–16 season with four straight wins, the Sharks have dropped four of their last five games, including Wednesday night’s contest against the Predators to wrap up a mini three-game homestand. Now they’ll look to get back on track in a Saturday afternoon matinee in Dallas, the first game of a back-to-back that will see them face off against both the team that leads the Central Division and the team hanging out at the bottom of the standings.

This should be the first matchup between the Sharks and old friend Antti Niemi, who’s off to a fine start in Dallas with a 5–1 record and a .917 save percentage that’s identical to the one he posted during his five year tenure in San Jose.

Tale Of The Tape

	@
5-4-0	Record	8-2-0
4th in Pacific	Rank	1st in Central
51.8%	Score-Adj. Fenwick	51.6%
101.2	PDO	98.0
11.1	PP%	27.3
80.0	PK%	85.7

12:00 PDT – American Airlines Center – Dallas, Texas
TV: CSN-CA – Radio: KFOX 98.5
Know Your Enemy: Defending Big D

Last meeting

The Sharks got crushed by the Stars 5–1 in a game that saw both teams get eliminated from playoff contention when the Jets won shortly after puck drop. Joe Thornton scored the lone goal for San Jose.

Storylines

• Assuming Niemi starts for Dallas, this game will feature either the former goalie vs. his former backup or the former goalie vs. his successor. Both matchups are ripe with drama that should have the narrative machine firing on all cylinders today.
• This will be the second game back for Joonas Donskoi and Ben Smith and the third for Paul Martin, and the Sharks played a tight game against a very good Nashville team on Wednesday night. They’ll look for more from those guys as they try to come out on top this time.
• In case you missed it, the Sharks called up Bryan Lerg and Dylan DeMelo from the Barracuda for some added depth on this road trip. Melker Karlsson skated with the Barracuda on Friday and could be available as well.