St. Louis (5-6-0) at San Jose (11-2-0) 10:30 p.m. EST
SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks are taking
full advantage of their home ice.
The Sharks look to remain perfect at home this season when they
host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
San Jose has won seven straight games at HP Pavilion to open the
new campaign and could tie the franchise record for consecutive
wins at home in a single season set from January 24-March 3,
2004.
The Sharks have won 12 games in a row at home dating back to
last season and look to continue that streak against the Blues,
who have dropped five straight meetings with San Jose and are
just 1-12-1 against the reigning Pacific Division champions
since January 3, 2004.
Evgeni Nabokov has been the key to the Sharks' dominance over
the Blues, posting a 5-1-1 record with two shutouts over his
last seven starts against St. Louis. This season, Nabokov is
9-2-2 with a 2.62 goals-against average and .894 save
percentage.
The Blues may have a difficult time snapping the Sharks'
five-game overall winning streak as they could be without
leading scorer Paul Kariya, who left Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the
Anaheim Ducks in the second period with a lower body injury and
did not return.
Kariya recorded his team-high 15th point when he set up Andy
McDonald's goal early in the middle period before leaving. It
was speculated that Kariya suffered a hip flexor, but Blues
coach Andy Murray was unsure of the nature of the injury.
"We don't really know yet," Murray said. "I don't know what the
extent of the injury is, but he couldn't finish the game."