Sharks vs. Kings preview: L.A. makes lone visit of season to the Tank
The Kings make their lone trip to SAP Center this season for a huge Pacific Division matchup prior to the All-Star break.
In the final NHL game to be played prior to the All-Star break, the Sharks will host the Kings at SAP Center for the first and only time this season, with their remaining home game against L.A. coming outdoors at Levi's Stadium a month from today. As disappointingly mediocre as the Sharks have been this season, the Kings currently sit two points back of the Sharks and outside a playoff spot although they do have a game in hand on San Jose. That, the Sharks' unceremonious start to their current homestand and the fact that this is the only time the Sharks will legitimately get to exercise home-ice advantage on the Kings this year makes tonight's contest pretty damn important.
Tale Of The Tape
 | @ |  |
| 20-14-12, 52 points | Record | 24-17-6, 54 points |
| 3rd in Pacific | Rank | 5th in Pacific |
| 53.4% | Score-Adj. Fenwick | 50.4% |
| 99.8 | PDO | 98.6 |
| 19.2 | PP% | 20.5 |
| 78.7 | PK% | 81.5 |
7:30PM PST | SAP Center | San Jose, California
TV: NBCSN | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Jewels From The Crown, The Royal Half, Battle Of California
Projected Sharks Lineup
Joe Pavelski - Joe Thornton - Melker Karlsson
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Matt Nieto
Tomas Hertl - James Sheppard - Tyler Kennedy
John Scott - Andrew Desjardins - Barclay Goodrow
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon - Matt Tennyson
Matt Irwin - Scott Hannan
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Projected Kings Lineup
Marian Gaborik - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown
Dwight King - Nick Shore - Jeff Carter
Trevor Lewis - Jarret Stoll - Justin Williams
Kyle Clifford - Mike Richards - Jordan Nolan
Jake Muzzin - Drew Doughty
Brayden McNabb - Matt Greene
Robyn Regehr - Alec Martinez
Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones
Last Meeting
Joe Pavelski opened the scoring for San Jose but it wasn't nearly enough as Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin scored to lead the Kings past the Sharks 3-1 to tie the regular season series at one win apiece.
Storylines
- After a successful stint at center, Tomas Hertl will be moving back to left wing tonight with forward line combinations in flux in light of Tommy Wingels' injury.
- John Scott draws back into the lineup too after being a healthy scratch for five games.
- Matt Tennyson will take Justin Braun's customary spot alongside Brenden Dillon./