Sharks at Wild preview

SHARKS (25-28-4) at WILD (27-23-7)
5 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

Evason was named Wild coach Friday after Bruce Boudreau was fired.
The Wild, 7-3-1 in their past 11 games after going 1-5-1 in their previous seven games, trail the Arizona Coyotes by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Goalie Alex Stalock could make his third straight start for Minnesota; he's 5-1-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and two shutouts in his past seven starts and is 11-3-2 at home this season.
The Sharks will be without defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will be out the rest of the season after sustaining a broken left thumb, which will require surgery, in a 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. He is expected to recover in time for training camp.
San Jose is 3-1-0 in its past four games after going 1-5-0 in its previous six games. Goalie Martin Jones will start; he's 1-9-1 with a 3.70 GAA and .874 save percentage in his past 11 starts.

Players to watch

Sharks forward Timo Meier has six points (three goals, three assists) in a four-game point streak.
Wild forward Kevin Fiala has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"He's picked his game up in every area. I think he's been way more physical. His attention to detail defensively has been way better, and I think that's why he's getting some offense off it." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner on forward Timo Meier
"We're playing for each other. We understand that it's there. We're three points out … We need to answer the bell." -- Wild goalie Alex Stalock

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Barclay Goodrow -- Patrick Marleau
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Melker Karlsson --
Maxim Letunov
-- Dylan Gambrell
Alexander True -- Stefan Noesen
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Tim Heed
Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns
Radim Simek -- Mario Ferraro
Jacob Middleton
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: None
Injured: Joel Kellman (lower body), Logan Couture (fractured ankle), Tomas Hertl (knee), Dalton Prout (upper body), Erik Karlsson (broken thumb)
Suspended: Evander Kane

Wild projected lineup

Zach Parise -- Eric Staal -- Kevin Fiala
Alex Galchenyuk -- Luke Kunin -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Jordan Greenway
Ryan Donato -- Mikko Koivu -- Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy -- Greg Pateryn
Alex Stalock
Devan Dubnyk
Scratched: Victor Rask, Brad Hunt
Injured: None

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate Saturday. ... Kane was suspended three games by the NHL Department of Safety on Saturday for elbowing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk in a 3-2 win Friday. ... The Sharks, who could dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, recalled Middleton from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Saturday.

Stat pack

Marleau needs one goal to pass Mike Modano (561) for sole possession of 25th place on the League All-time list. … Dumba will play his 400th NHL game. … Staal has 24 points (14 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games against the Sharks.