SHARKS (43-27-7) at FLAMES (43-30-4)
9 p.m. ET; SNW, CSN-CA, NHL.TV
Sharks team scope
The San Jose Sharks would move into second place in the Pacific Division with a win against the Calgary Flames. The Sharks trail the Edmonton Oilers by two points, but have two more regulation/overtime wins than the Oilers. San Jose leads Calgary by three points for third place. San Jose, which clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with a 5-4 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, trails the Anaheim Ducks by three points for the Pacific lead. Each has five games remaining. "In playoffs, I think, if anything, and the time of hockey it is right now, teams are showing up every night and playing hard," center Joe Pavelski said following a 3-2 loss at Edmonton on Thursday. "There's another level for us to get to." San Jose is 1-7-0 in its past eight games after going 7-2-0 in its previous nine. "Do you rather play like [garbage] and win or do you want to play good and lose?" forward Jannik Hansen said Thursday. "We're obviously getting closer to the playoffs here. We need to have our game in the right spot. The last two games have been a whole lot better than the previous six." Goaltender Martin Jones could start after making 19 saves against the Oilers on Thursday. Jones is 33-21-6 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .912 save percentage this season. Center Joe Thornton is one assist from passing Brett Hull (1,391) for sole possession of 22nd place on the NHL all-time list.
Flames team scope
The Flames can clinch a playoff berth with a win in any fashion against San Jose, with a point against the Sharks and a loss in any fashion by the Los Angeles Kings at the Vancouver Canucks, or with a regulation loss by Los Angeles at Vancouver. "We're only concerned about one [way to clinch]," forward Kris Versteeg said. "We want to get in. From there you keep moving on. To make the playoffs, from Day One, was our goal. We've put ourselves in a good situation to do it." The Flames failed to clinch on their first attempt in losing 4-1 to the Kings on Tuesday. "We want to get the job done," forward Matt Stajan said. "This is what you play for all year, is to have a chance to clinch, especially on home ice. We're going to regroup from last game. Everybody will be ready to go tonight." Calgary leads the Nashville Predators by one point for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Each has five games remaining. The Flames can move within a point of third place in the Pacific Division with a win against San Jose. "We're still looking ahead," Versteeg said. "It's something we want to do. Look ahead and be confident we're a team that can keep moving up. This is a game we have to win to do it."
Sharks projected lineup
Timo Meier -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Patrick Marleau -- Joel Ward
Jannik Hansen -- Tomas Hertl -- Mikkel Boedker
Micheal Haley -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- David Schlemko
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Marcus Sorensen, Kevin Labanc, Dylan DeMelo
Injured: Logan Couture (face)
Flames projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Micheal Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Michael Frolik
Kris Versteeg -- Matt Stajan -- Troy Brouwer
Lance Bouma -- Sam Bennett -- Alex Chiasson
Mark Giordano -- Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski -- Deryk Engelland
Scratched: Curtis Lazar, Freddie Hamilton, Dennis Wideman
Injured: None
Status report
Dell and DeMelo were the only two Sharks to participate in an optional skate Friday morning. … Elliott, who is 14-2-1 with 34 goals against and two shutouts in his past 17 starts, will make his fourth straight start and 18th in the past 21 games. The Flames are expected to use the same lineup they did Wednesday.
Who's hot
Marleau has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past five games. … Gaudreau has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a six-game point streak and 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his past 18 games. … Monahan has seven points (two goals, five assists) in a three-game point streak and has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past six games.
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