The San Jose Sharks are trying to build momentum as the NHL playoffs approach and they will get another chance to do so on Saturday night, as the team hosts the Phoenix Coyotes at HP Pavilion in a Western conference battle.
The team has pitched two straight shutouts with goalie Antti Niemi and have won three games in a row and faces a team that is coming off of a recent seven game losing streak. The Coyotes snapped their losing streak on Thursday against Nashville, winning 7-4 after scoring five goals in nearly seven minutes, but they will likely have a bigger challenge from the Sharks on Saturday night.
Niemi has been fantastic for the Sharks lately and shutout both Anaheim and Detroit in consecutive games last week, including 27 saves against the Red Wings. The last time the Sharks and Coyotes played in February, the goalie was just as good stopping 21 shots before losing 1-0 in a shootout. The Sharks have been getting production from their top offensive players and they will need to be on top of their game to stop the Coyotes if they play like they did on Thursday.
Phoenix has gone 14-15-5 this season and scored a season-high seven goals against Nashville, the most since they scored eight against San Jose in 2006. Mike Smith made 33 saves against the Sharks last time, but he is injured this time around and will not be in net on Saturday. The Coyotes have 33 points this season and are fifth in the Pacific division.
The Sharks have gone 16-11-6 this season with 38 points while in third place in the Pacific division while ranking 28th in goals per game. The team is scoring over 2.0 goals per contest and have been fantastic in net, allowing less than 2.5 per game to rank sixth in the NHL. The team is ranked third in penalty kill percentage and are ranked 19th in power play percentage with 17.9 percent.
The Coyotes are in fifth place in the division and rank 16th in scoring with under 3.0 goals per game. The team is ranked 19th in goals against and are 22nd in power play percentage while ranking 10th in penalty kill percentage.
