Gameday Blog: Sharks at Panthers 12/1

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The Sharks continue their East Coast road swing with a visit to sunny Florida for a back-to-back jaunt in Sunrise and Tampa Bay. The Florida Panthers are first up, as the Sharks look to avenge the 2-0 loss in San Jose on November 16.
Since that loss, the Sharks have gone 3-1-2. But more important than just points alone, the Sharks have looked better too: their 5-on-5 scoring ratio has dramatically increased, and the power play has started to climb up the rankings. A sign of the improved results is also the improved SPSv%, meaning the team is finally starting to get out of the bad luck funk.
On the other hand, the Panthers have gone 3-3-0 - the same number of wins, but fewer points. That has not helped them in the standings, tied for second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference.
All eyes are on the health of Martin Jones, and there was an encouraging sign yesterday. Goaltender Antoine Bibeau, who was on emergency recall and served as backup for Aaron Dell in Philadelphia, was reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda. Only speculation, but that could be a sign Martin Jones is ready to return to action. We will have to wait until morning skate to find out which of the Sharks goaltenders will start tonight.
Read the latest on the San Jose Sharks from the Mercury News.

!Tale of the Tide
At morning skate, it was confirmed that Aaron Dell will get his second straight start tonight, but Martin Jones is healthy enough to serve as the backup (and will likely start against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow).
Other lineup changes include Ryan Carpenter in for Danny O'Regan and Kevin Labanc in for Joonas Donskoi. Both Paul Martin and Tim Heed remain out on defense due to various ailments.