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Thursday, 03 November 2011 10:00

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Sharks.

When and where: 10:30 p.m.; HP Pavilion.

TV: Root Sports; CSN California.

Record: 6-4-0, 12 points. The Sharks are in eighth place in the Western Conference and third place in the Pacific Division.

Leading Scorer: Joe Pavelski (right), 13 points (eight goals, five assists).

Last Game: 5-2 road loss to the Rangers, Monday. Pavelski had a goal and an assist for the Sharks.

Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 overtime road win, Feb. 23. Tyler Kennedy scored two goals for the Penguins.

Sharks Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Pavelski. He has a six-game scoring streak.

Ex-Penguins on the Sharks: None.

Ex-Sharks on the Penguins: Tony Granato, assistant coach; Bill Guerin, player development coach.

Useless Sharks Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The only player in Sharks franchise histor to win the Masterton Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication, is current Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato (1997).

Best Sharks Video We Could Find: The biggest goal in Sharks' history. Jamie Baker's game-winning score against the Red Wings in Game 7 of a 1994 Western Conference quarterfinal:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (7-2-0, 1.86 GAA, .934 SV%) for the Penguins and Antti Niemi (4-2-0, 2.65 GAA, .902 SV%) for the Sharks.

Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Kris Letang (undisclosed) and center Jordan Staal ("lower-body") are game-time decisions. Goaltender Brent Johnson (illness) is questionable. Defenseman Zbynek Michalek (finger) is out. Centers Sidney Crosby (concussion), Tyler Kennedy (concussion) and defensemen Brian Strait (elbow) are on injured reserve. For the Sharks, defenseman Dan Boyle (illness) is probable. Goaltender Antero Nittymaki (groin) is on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: With the recent run of injuries, the Penguins lines and defensive pairing are never a sure thing. Here's an educated guess:

Steve Sullivan - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Arron Asham
Dustin Jeffrey - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams

Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Brooks Orpik - Deryk Engelland
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy

The Sharks did not practice with a full crew yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Rangers Monday were

Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Ryane Clowe - Logan Couture - Martin Havlat
Andrew Murray - Michal Handzus - Torrey Mitchell
Brad Winchester - Andrew Desjardins - Jamie McGinn

Douglas Murray - Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Brent Burns
Colin White - Jason Demers

Notes:

-Matt Cooke has pledged change and has delivered.

-What is "stick on puck" and why do the Penguins value it a bunch? (PG+)

-The Penguins have not won in San Jose since a 5-2 victory, Oct. 22, 1997. Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr had a They have a record of 0-8-1 in San Jose since that time.

-Cooke has 99 career points with the Penguins.

-Neal has 148 career points.

-Kunitz has 297 career points.

-Park has 97 career goals.

-"I just play." - Pavelski explaining his success.

-"Every couple of years you have to say some sort of bone-headed thing."- Thornton apologizing for suggesting the Rangers were soft following Monday's game.

-Our live blog begins today at approximately 10:30 p.m. Please drink some coffee and tune in.

(Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Comments (6)

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written by Bones, November 03, 2011 - 10:14 AM

Hate to be "that guy", but I don't think the Monster will be in net for the Sharks tonight...

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written by espo33, November 03, 2011 - 12:39 PM

They have some good forwards. And if Staal is not playing I would like to see Jeffrey on 2nd line as opposed to Park. Nothing against him, just Jeffrey is better with the puck overall.

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written by Disgruntled Goat, November 03, 2011 - 12:43 PM

Bones, you're totally "that guy," which is way better than being "that girl," because, you know, then you'd be married to Phil Donahue.

The comment above is Disgruntled Goat's bone-headed thing for the next couple of years minutes.

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written by Disgruntled Goat, November 03, 2011 - 01:07 PM

Letang injury prompts Pens to engage Picard

That's lame even by my standards. That's Voyager lame.

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written by jameshutton, November 03, 2011 - 02:49 PM

@espo33 - I'm a Jeffrey fan, but I'm not sure he's earned his way up to the second line this year. I think he's still working his way into game shape on the 4th line.

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written by s_rorabaugh, November 03, 2011 - 07:23 PM

Bones, I hate being "that guy" who makes a stupid error like that. +1 for the heads up.

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