Sharks vs. Canucks preview: Mirror image teams square off in Vancouver
The Sharks and Canucks have been awfully similar this season. They face each other tonight in a crucial Pacific Division matchup.
There might not be two teams in the NHL more statistically similar this season than the Sharks and Canucks. Both clubs are clicking at 50.7% score-adjusted possession, neither team can score at even-strength as they rank 23rd and 22nd, respectively, in 5-on-5 goals per minute and both teams boast fourth lines and third pairings that can be charitably described on most nights as "godawful." Vancouver has the opportunity to establish a third similarity tonight as they can improve to 61 points on the year, moving into a tie with San Jose in that category and overtaking the Sharks on the ROW tiebreaker. Fresh off a loss to Calgary, the Sharks will try to avoid making it two defeats in a row in Western Canada.
Tale Of The Tape
 | @ |  |
| 27-18-7, 61 points | Record | 28-18-3, 59 points |
| 3rd in Pacific | Rank | 4th in Pacific |
| 50.7% | Score-Adj. Fenwick | 50.7% |
| 99.0 | PDO | 99.2 |
| 21.0 | PP% | 18.0 |
| 81.6 | PK% | 86.3 |
7PM PST | Rogers Arena | Vancouver, British Columbia
TV: CSNCA-HD | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Canucks Army, Nucks Misconduct, Pass It To Bulis
Projected Sharks Lineup
Joe Pavelski - Joe Thornton - Melker Karlsson
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Matt Nieto
Tomas Hertl - James Sheppard - Barclay Goodrow
John Scott - Chris Tierney - Tyler Kennedy
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon - Matt Tennyson
Matt Irwin - Scott Hannan
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Projected Canucks Lineup
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows
Shawn Matthias - Nick Bonino - Radim Vrbata
Chris Higgins - Linden Vey - Jannik Hansen
Ronalds Kenins - Bo Horvat - Derek Dorsett
Alex Edler - Chris Tanev
Dan Hamhuis - Luca Sbisa
Ryan Stanton - Adam Clendening
Ryan Miller
Eddie Lack
Last Meeting
In a game in which the Sharks were awarded two penalty shots, they were only able to cash in on one and ended up dropping a 3-1 decision to the Canucks on home ice, marking their second loss to Vancouver at the Tank this season.
Storylines
- Antti Niemi is unsurprisingly expected to get the start in net after Alex Stalock played yesterday against Calgary. Ryan Miller will likely face him for Vancouver.
- Adam Clendening, acquired last week from the Blackhawks in exchange for prospect Gustav Forsling, will play his third game for the Canucks tonight. /