A Sabres victory would match the longest streak in their history set from Jan. 4-23, 1984 and tied Oct. 4-26, 2006. Sharks forward Evander Kane returns to Buffalo for the first time since he was acquired in a trade with the Sabres on Feb. 26. San Jose has alternated wins and losses in its past six games (3-2-1), including a 6-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Players to watch
Sharks forward Joe Pavelski has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past seven games. Sabres forward Jack Eichel has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in a six-game point streak.
They said it
"They have set the culture in that dressing room for the last decade. They're leaders, and while their minutes may have diminished, their importance in our group is as big or more as it's ever been." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski "It hasn't been easy. We've had to work hard and everyone has. To finally get rewarded for that with the start we've had is great but, again, there's a lot of work to be done even though we're having a pretty good start."-- Sabres forward Jason Pominville on the winning streak
Sheary is day to day after leaving practice early Monday. ... Scandella was a late scratch. GM Jason Botterill, speaking on WGR550 radio, didn't disclose the reason but said it was unrelated to the injury that led him to miss one game last week. ... Pilut was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League.
Stat pack
The Sharks are 53-for-56 (94.6 percent) on the penalty kill in their past 20 games while allowing an NHL low two power-play goals in November. … The Sabres are 24-for-26 (92.3 percent) on the kill in their past 11 games.
