Sharks vs. Avalanche preview: Stalock to make third straight start
The second of only two meetings this season between the Western Conference clubs.
With Antti Niemi still feeling under the weather, Alex Stalock will start a third consecutive game as the Sharks host the Colorado Avalanche in one of their final home games of the 2014-15 regular season. Both teams have been beset by key injuries, with the Avs losing super sophomore Nathan MacKinnon for the remainder of their season while San Jose will once again be without top defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Tale Of The Tape
 | @ |  |
| 35-29-12, 82 points | Record | 37-30-9, 83 points |
| 7th in Central | Rank | 5th in Pacific |
| 44.7% | Score-Adj. Fenwick | 50.9% |
| 101.4 | PDO | 99.0 |
| 14.0 | PP% | 21.6 |
| 84.4 | PK% | 79.0 |
7:30PM PDT | SAP Center | San Jose, California
TV: NBCSN | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Mile High Hockey, Jibblescribbits
Projected Sharks Lineup
Joe Pavelski - Joe Thornton - Melker Karlsson
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Tomas Hertl
Matt Nieto - Chris Tierney - Tommy Wingels
John Scott - Ben Smith - Barclay Goodrow
Brenden Dillon - Justin Braun
Scott Hannan - Brent Burns
Matt Irwin - Taylor Fedun
Alex Stalock
Antti Niemi
Projected Avalanche Lineup
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Alex Tanguay
John Mitchell - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Jordan Caron - Freddie Hamilton - Joey Hishon
Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Dennis Everberg
Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie
Jan Hejda - Zach Redmond
Nick Holden - Brad Stuart
Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra
Last Meeting
San Jose fired 51 shots on goal but still needed a shootout to dispatch the Avs back in October. Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored in regulation while Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau converted their shootout attempts.
Storylines
- Former Sharks prospect Freddie Hamilton, traded for Karl Stollery at the trade deadline, will face his former team for the first time. Hamilton has one goal (his first in the NHL) in 12 games with the Avs this season.
- This is the second time in Stalock's career he'll be starting three games in a row. He went 2-1 with a .929 SV% when called upon to do so earlier this season.
- Joe Thornton is mired in a five-game point drought, his longest since February 2013./