Shorthanded Sharks renew rivalry with Kings (Jan 03, 2017)

The San Jose Sharks will be short-handed on defense for at least two more games.

With Marc-Edouard Vlasic still sidelined, the Sharks hope to earn a split of their home-and-home series with the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at SAP Center.

Vlasic was placed on injured reserve Monday after taking a puck to the face in Friday's 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He will miss this contest and Thursday's matchup at home with the Minnesota Wild.

Vlasic leads the team with 69 blocked shots, and has three goals, including two game-winners, and six assists in 35 games.

In a corresponding move, the Sharks have recalled Mirco Mueller from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. Mueller, who will be playing with San Jose for the first time this season, has eight assists in 25 games in the minors this season.

Vlasic did not play in Saturday's 3-2 Sharks loss at Staples Center that snapped Los Angeles' three-game skid and San Jose's four-game winning streak.

"There's no doubt the better team won tonight," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.

However, San Jose is 2-1-0 versus the Kings, including an opening-night 2-1 victory on Oct. 12 in northern California. Brent Burns snapped a 1-all tie early in the third period and Martin Jones finished with 21 saves.

Burns scored his team-high 15th goal Saturday, and his 35 points are one more than Joe Pavelski's total.

Burns was the league's top scoring defenseman in the 2016 calendar year, finishing with 77 points, four more than Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators. During 2016, Burns also scored 27 goals -- no other blueliner had more than 18.

Pavelski, who needs three points for 600 in his NHL career, has one assist in three games this season against Los Angeles.

If Jones starts, he will try to notch his 20th win against the team he broke into the league with in 2013. After surrendering seven goals while losing his first two career starts against Los Angeles in San Jose, Jones has allowed three goals while winning twice at home versus the Kings.

Before opening a season-high seven-game homestand, Los Angeles looks to post its second win in seven road games. Overall, the Kings are 7-11-3 away from home -- and 1-9-3 on the road when held to two goals or less.

Neither team generates much in the way of offense. Los Angeles is tied for 21st in the league with 2.46 goals per game while San Jose is 20th with 2.49 per game.

Kings coach Darryl Sutter praised his team despite watching them go 6-5-3 and winning back-to-back games just once in December.

"We showed perseverance and focus and all that stuff. It was a tough month in terms of everything to do with the schedule," Sutter told a team-owned website.

In recent years, January has been difficult for the Kings, who have gone a combined 14-17-7 in the month over the last three seasons.

Including the postseason, Los Angeles has won six of its last 10 in San Jose. Three losses have come in the last four meetings.

"It's always a battle against them," said the Kings' Peter Budaj, who has surrendered nine goals in his last seven games but has a 3-3-1 record in that span. Two of the wins have come via shutout.

Budaj is 1-1-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .884 save percentage in San Jose this season.

If Jeff Zatkoff starts, it would be his first game action since Dec. 23. He replaced the injured Jonathan Quick on opening night, and stopped 15 of 16 shots in the loss to the Sharks.

Jeff Carter, who scored his 20th goal and league-best seventh game winner Saturday, will try to build off a month in which he carried the team. In 14 December games, Carter had 10 goals and 12 points. Drew Doughty, Trevor Lewis, Nick Shore and Tyler Toffoli were tied for second with only three goals each.

Toffoli is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

The Sharks will try to win three straight in regulation at home from their division rivals for the first time since April 1, 2008 to Feb. 19, 2009.

The teams will meet for the final time in the regular season on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles.