All that’s standing between the San Jose Sharks and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs is a win over a team they haven’t been able to
solve this season.
It’s a pivotal season finale Saturday night when the Sharks meet the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center.
San Jose (45-26-10) snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
“It wasn’t a pretty win
Dustin Hopkins Jersey , but we found a way. Tough time of year, tough circumstances against a real desperate team,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
said.
Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the postseason goes to the team that finishes higher in the regular-season standings. With 100 points, San
Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Anaheim
Ducks and two in front of the Los Angeles Kings.
All three California teams are in action Saturday. Anaheim travels to meet the Arizona Coyotes, while Los Angeles plays host to the Dallas Stars. Neither
the Coyotes nor the Stars are headed to the postseason.
A win over Minnesota locks down second place for San Jose and would come after two crushing losses. On Dec. 10, the Sharks rallied from three goals down
at home before falling 4-3 in overtime to the Wild. On Feb. 25, San Jose
squandered a two-goal edge and lost 3-2 in overtime in St. Paul.
Brent Burns has two power-play goals against the Wild this season. Minnesota selected Burns 20th overall in the 2003 draft before trading him to the Bay Area
in 2011. With 65 points, last season’s Norris Trophy winner is second in the
league in scoring among defensemen, one point behind the Stars’ John
Klingberg.
Sharks forward Evander Kane is expected to miss his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. However, he told the San Jose Mercury News this week that
he’ll be good to go for his postseason debut.
“As long as I’ve got two arms and two legs, I’ll be playing no matter what,” said Kane
http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/allen-hurns-jersey , who has nine goals and five assists in 14 games after being acquired from the
Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline.
The Sharks’ Martin Jones, who collected his 30th win Thursday, is 0-3-2 with a 3.35 goals-against average in his last five starts against Minnesota. Backup
Aaron Dell has never faced the Wild.
Regardless of the outcome of this game, Minnesota (44-26-11) will not have the home-ice edge when it faces the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. However,
the Wild are looking to avoid their fifth consecutive loss on the road —
including a California sweep.
After falling 3-1 to Anaheim on Wednesday, Minnesota dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to Los Angeles.
“We’ve got to get back to playing the right way,” Wild defenseman Nate Prosser said.
Three of Eric Staal’s 41 goals on the season for Minnesota have come versus the Sharks. He needs one more to top his total over the last two seasons
combined with the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and the Wild.
There is a chance that the 33-year-old veteran of nearly 1,100 games might sit out to rest for the postseason, but he’d rather see action.
“I like to play, I love being out there regardless of any situation,” said Staal, who has four goals and two assists in his last two games in San Jose.
“We’ll see what gets talked about (Friday) and what the game plan is. But I’m
fine with playing. We’ve got a couple more days anyway before playoffs
start
http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/ezekiel-elliott-jersey , so I’d like to be out there with the guys.”
Devan Dubnyk has alternated losses and wins in his last nine starts (4-3-2) with a 2.08 GAA and a shutout for Minnesota. Backup and former Shark Alex
Stalock made 31 saves in the win over San Jose in December.
If Antonio Gates is on his way back to the Los Angeles Chargers, general manager Tom Telesco
isn’t talking about it.
Telesco has a whole lot more to say about the players already settled in Orange County as the Chargers attempt to build on their encouraging relocation
season with the start of training camp Saturday.
Telesco repeatedly declined to confirm almost anything Thursday about a potential reunion with the 38-year-old Gates, the star tight end and top
receiver in franchise history. The Chargers bade a public farewell to Gates in
April, but those plans appear to be changing after tight end Hunter Henry’s
subsequent season-ending knee injury during offseason workouts in May.
Gates’ agent, Tom Condon, told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday that he is ”actively negotiating” with the Chargers for Gates’ return for a 16th season
with his only NFL franchise.
”I’ve got nothing new for you,” Telesco said. ”But if we ever do anything, I’ll let you know.”
Telesco praised the tight ends already on his roster, including new signee Vernon Green and young backups Braedon Bowman and Sean Culkin. The GM also
acknowledged he is confident in Gates’ ability to keep playing if he
chooses.
Gates caught only 30 passes for 316 yards last season in his lowest totals since his rookie season, but much of that decline was attributable to the
stellar play of Henry, who became a key target for Philip Rivers in the Bolts’
high-powered offense.
Aside from Gates’ future, Telesco and the Chargers are heading into training camp with far fewer variables and obstacles than they had last season. The
franchise combined its complicated relocation from San Diego with the arrival of
a new coaching staff led by Anthony Lynn, leading to a training camp and a
September that was particularly draining to the players
http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/quintin-demps-jersey , coaches and front office.
”Going into training camp right now, it feels completely different than last year,” Telesco said. ”It wasn’t something I really realized, I think, until the
last couple of weeks. Last year as we were relocating … there was so much work
that people were doing at this time last year that we’re not doing right now. At
the time, we say, `Hey, this is business as usual. There aren’t that many
distractions.’ But as I was coming into work this week and thinking about all
the stuff we were doing at this time last year, yeah, it’s a little more
stability right now.”
Indeed, the Chargers appear to be in their most stable position in several years. The front office and top coaches are all returning, and their roster
underwent remarkably little turnover in the offseason after the Bolts just
missed the playoffs at 9-7.
The contrast is stark with last July, when everyone associated with the Chargers was still moving 90 miles north to their new homes and settling in the
area while trying to put together a football team. The Chargers started 0-4
before their 9-3 finish.
”Even though you have that football mentality that nothing is going to affect us – (and) it really didn’t feel like it did – but when you look back
Denico Autry Jersey , yeah, it was unique, to say the least,” Telesco said. ”And that’s all done now. This is home.”
Telesco expects a strong start to camp with coordinators Ken Whisenhunt and Gus Bradley both returning for Lynn.
The Chargers replaced starting safety Tre Boston with promising first-round pick Derwin James, but the rest of the defense returns with remarkable
continuity – and promising cornerback Jason Verrett is back at full strength
after losing most of the past two seasons to injury. The offense added veteran
center Mike Pouncey, but Gates and Henry are the only significant losses from a
unit that finished fourth in the league last season with 376.6 yards per game
and led the league in yards passing.
Telesco is particularly interested in the progress of receiver Mike Williams. The seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft missed training camp with a back
injury and played in only 10 games, catching 11 passes.
”We’re looking for him to step up and contribute this year,” Telesco said. ”It’s why we took him. He had, relatively, a full offseason program this summer,
which is really important for every young player, but especially a receiver.
It’ll be a big training camp. It’s his first. He’s like a rookie.”
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