The San Jose Sharks have had a rough go of it this month, but the team will be looking to win back-to-back games for the first time in weeks as they host the Detroit Red Wings at the HP Pavilion in California.
The Sharks have been successful against the Red Wings at home, but this month the team has been struggling, going 2-3-6 while scoring just 15 goals.
San Jose was one of the hottest teams to start the lockout-shortened schedule after going 7-0-0 and scoring nearly 30 goals, but the team has hit the wall offensively this month while going just 3 for 51 while having a man advantage.
"We're not scoring as much as we'd like, and we're trying to fix that," coach Todd McLellan said. "Some of that comes through the power play, and we're trying to fix that."
The Sharks have played much better at home than on the road, going 6-1-2 at HP Pavilion after losing six of seven games on the road. San Jose is heading into the game after a 3-2 shootout win over Colorado at home and will try to continue their streak against the Red Wings, taking nine of the past 11 games against Detroit at home.
"The level of play has been better at home than it has been on the road, and it's as simple as that," McLellan said. "We've been able to find that extra point here at home more often than on the road."
The Sharks have won three in a row at home against the Red Wings and Detroit is on the ropes, entering the game after a tough 2-1 loss on the road against the Kings on Wednesday. Jimmy Howard has started 18 games for the Red Wings and will likely be in net on Thursday.
San Jose will rely heavily on Patrick Marleau, who scored the winning goal in Tuesday's game. Marleau is lading the team with 12 goals and has scored 34 points in 28 career games against the Red Wings at home, while Joe Thornton is tops in points with 19.
Detroit has struggled on the road this season, going just 2-4-2, losing three straight away from home. The team had the advantage on the Kings, but gave up two late third period goals to lose the game.
"I've got to give us a chance to win, but it wasn't enough," said Jimmy Howard, who had 27 saves. "We were playing a great road game there. We were just grinding it out and making smart plays. (But it) doesn't matter who you play, you can't be giving up three 5-on-3s."
Detroit will rely heavily on Howard on Thursday, as he tries to rebound from a 1-3-1 record in his six road starts. Henrik Zetterberg will need to be on his game on Thursday for the Red Wings, as he is leading the team with 25 points and has averaged a point per game in his career against San Jose.
The Sharks are scoring just 2.3 goals per game, but have been excellent in net, ranked fifth in the league with 2.2 allowed. The team is ranked 17th in power play percentage and has been one of the best shorthanded, ranking fifth by killing over 86 percent of penalties. The Red Wings are ranked eight in scoring and are 17th in goals against with 2.8 allowed per game.
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