{coyotes} COYOTES (23-46-8) at SHARKS (38-30-9)

Thursday, 2 April 2015

{coyotes} COYOTES (23-46-8) at SHARKS (38-30-9)

ESPN Fantasy Baseball / Yahoo Fantasy Baseball

Friday, April 3, 2015

10:00 PM ET

COYOTES (23-46-8) at SHARKS (38-30-9)

TV: FS-A, CSN-CA+

Season series: The San Jose Sharks have won two of three games against the Arizona Coyotes as they enter a home-and-home series. The road team has won each game, most recently on Feb. 13 when Joe Pavelski's hat trick helped the Sharks rally to win after trailing by two goals after one period.

Coyotes team scope: Arizona finished March 3-10-1, including a 4-1 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. Coach Dave Tippett said rookie goaltender Louis Domingue could play one of the two games against the Sharks in the back-to-back, according to the Arizona Republic, which also reported that forward Lauri Korpikoski will travel with the team but won't play this weekend. Korpikoski hasn't played since taking a stick to the mouth on March 24. Goaltender Mike Smith is one loss away from becoming the first NHL goaltender to lose 40 games in regulation in one season since Marc Denis of the Columbus Blue Jackets lost 41 in 2002-03.

Sharks team scope: If San Jose doesn't leave the ice Friday with two points, its hopes of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 11th consecutive season are all but over. Even a sweep of their final five games won't guarantee a playoff berth. They are five points behind the Winnipeg Jets, who hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. The Sharks are 3-0-1 in their past four games, including a 5-1 home victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Goaltender Alex Stalock has started the past three games while Antti Niemi battled an illness, but coach Todd McLellan said he's leaning toward starting Niemi because Stalock is dealing with an illness. "Al isn't feeling that good. It's his turn now," McLellan said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "We'll see how he is in the morning, but because of that we're probably leaning toward [Niemi] now. It shows you in the right way how close those two are."

Team Stats