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After going 5-0 through the first five games of a six-game road trip, the San Jose Sharks have lost two of their last three outings. Their last week of games saw a loss to the Rangers on the back-end of that road trip by a margin of 5-2, and a loss in their most recent outing, 4-3 in overtime. In between those, they beat the Penguins in the first game of a six-game homestand. Now they've got a week ahead with three games, all at home, and two of them will be against Pacific division rivals.
On Monday, the Sharks will host the Los Angeles Kings for the first of six meetings between the two rivals this season. The Kings are winless in their last four outings, and have dropped their last two road games, as well. They're looking to turn things around against a Sharks team that desperately doesn't want to fall behind again. For San Jose, it's all about picking up wins to make the playoffs again, but they don't want to have to put together a huge swing of wins late in the season like last year.
San Jose had dominated in their last outing, before letting the game slip away late. For them, it will be all about getting to an early lead over the Kings, who are struggling, and maintain it throughout.
Later in the week, the Sharks will take on the Minnesota Wild. That game will be on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first time the two teams meet this season. Following that, on Saturday, the Sharks will host the rival Phoenix Coyotes for the second of six meetings between the two teams. That game will also be at 7:30 p.m.