Not so long ago the Stars and Sharks could have been considered pretty fierce rivals. As a casual fan of the Sharks as a kid, most of my least-fond memories come from attending Sharks-Stars games. With Dallas' recent resurgence, those memories, while mostly faded, have come bubbling up to the surface again.

Despite playing in the second game of a back-to-back, Dallas will be a tough test for the Sharks. The Stars are certainly the best team San Jose has played since starting its win streak. Expect Antti Niemi to start for Dallas in his first start back in San Jose since leaving in free agency over the summer — hopefully his stellar record against the Blackhawks is just a coincidence, and not an indicator of future performance against all his former teams.

Okay, so maybe I don't believe in that crap, but if there was one area of hockey where I'd buy into the voodoo nonsense it's goalies.

Tale Of The Tape

	@
29-12-4	Record	22-18-2
2nd in Central	Rank	3rd in Pacific
52.1%	Score-Adj. Fenwick	52.1%
101.4	PDO	99.7
22.5	PP%	20.4
80.9	PK%	79.8

7:30PM PDT | SAP Center | San Jose
TV: NHL-N, SN1 | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Nucks Misconduct

Last Meeting

The Sharks came back from two different deficits but the Stars took the lead for good in the third period. It was a bad night for Alex Stalock, who allowed three goals at 5v5 on 20 shots and a shorthanded tally.

Storylines

• This is Antti Niemi's second game against the Sharks since joining the Stars but his first in San Jose.
• The Sharks are already riding their second-longest win streak of the season and can extend their longest home win streak to three games. Yeah.
• Martin Jones has put together a strong run of games during the Sharks win streak. These are probably related.