Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

NHL on NBCSN: Sharks aim for home ice, battle Coyotes

Coyotes vs Sharks

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 15: Goaltender Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks makes a save on the shot from Shane Doan #19 of the Phoenix Coyotes during the second period of the NHL game at Jobing.com Arena on April 15, 2013 in Glendale, Arizona. The Sharks defeated the Coyotes 4-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

NBCSN’s ongoing coverage of the 2013 campaign will continue tonight when the Phoenix Coyotes host the San Jose Sharks at Jobing.com Arena at 10:00 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.

San Jose guaranteed its playoff spot by beating the Dallas Stars yesterday, but the squad can’t take a break yet.

“There’s a sense of relief, but it can’t be a sense of relaxation,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan told CSN Bay Area. “When we came in, we immediately looked at what happened tonight around the league, and there’s still a chance for home ice. That would be a nice thing to have.”

The Sharks are now tied with the Los Angeles Kings in points in the battle for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Both teams have two games left, but the Kings have an insurmountable lead in ROW (wins excluding shootout victories), so the tie will go to Los Angeles.

It’s worth adding that the Sharks and Kings will end their respective regular season schedules by facing each other on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN).

San Jose has been a dominating 17-2-5 at home, but 8-12-2 on the road, so the importance of securing the fourth seed shouldn’t be dismissed.

That being said, the Sharks will have their work cut out for them tonight in what will be their third game in just four days.

“It’s going to be tough with back-to-backs and three [games] in four [nights],” Sharks forward Logan Couture admitted, “but we’re just going to see what we’re made of.”

The Phoenix Coyotes are coming off of a 4-0 loss to Detroit on Monday. Although they made it all the way to the 2012 Western Conference finals, they don’t have much left to play for now except for personal pride.

Probable goaltenders: SJS - Antti Niemi (24-11-6, 2.14 GAA, .925 SV%) | PHX - Mike Smith (14-12-4, 2.59 GAA, .910 SV%)

Top scorers: SJS - Joe Thornton (7-33-40, 46 GP) | PHX - Mikkel Boedker (7-18-25, 45 GP)

Notable Injuries:
San Jose - Defensemen: Jason Demers (lower body)
Phoenix - None