Anaheim (16-10-3) at San Jose (22-3-2) 10:30 p.m. EST
SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- The surging Anaheim Ducks are
not afraid of a challenge.
The Ducks try to hand the San Jose Sharks their first regulation
home loss on Thursday when the cross-state rivals meet at HP
Pavilion.
Brendan Morrison snapped a tie with 2:37 remaining in the third
period and Chris Kunitz scored two goals as Anaheim skated to a
4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, improving to
6-2-0 in its last eight games.
Teemu Selanne, who had two assists against the Blues, believes
the meeting with the Sharks will be a good barometer of the
Ducks' progress.
"We go one game at a time. The way they're playing, we're
looking forward to playing them and checking where we're at,"
Selanne said. "You can't be on cruise control all year. You
have to face some challenges, go through some tough times to get
stronger as a team."
Despite its sparkling home record, San Jose suffered a 3-2
overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers there on Saturday, snapping
a nine-game win streak and falling to 14-0-2 at HP Pavilion.
The Sharks have suffered back-to-back losses only once this
season, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes on
November 9 before enduring an overtime setback against the
Nashville Predators two days later.