The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to stretch their winning streak to six games when they play host to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
Zach Werenski scored twice as the Blue Jackets edged the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout on Tuesday night to improve to 8-2-0 over their last 10 games.
Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko scored in the shootout, and goaltender Daniil Tarasov, making his first start since Dec. 28, made 23 saves in the win.
“I think it just shows a lot about our team,” said Werenski. “I don’t really think we had our game tonight, fully, but we found a way to get a win, faced some adversity there in third with a goal by them and then a power play for them.
“I thought we just responded well, just kept sticking to the game plan. Wasn’t pretty but found a way to get two points, so it’s the most important thing.”
Werenski, who leads all NHL defensemen with 50 points in 44 games entering Wednesday’s action, extended his home point streak to 17 games (12 goals, 22 assists) on Tuesday.
Marchenko, the team leader with 18 goals, extended his point streak to five games (two goals, four assists) in the win over the Flyers. Marchenko has 21 points in his past 15 games.
Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is 15-10-3 with an .889 save percentage and a 3.12 goals-against average in 28 starts this season. In six career appearances against the Sharks, Merzlikins is 2-3-1 with a .901 save percentage and a 3.05 GAA.
Thursday is the second of two meetings between the Blue Jackets and Sharks. San Jose edged Columbus 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 5 in the Bay Area.
San Jose doubled up the host Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game skid.
The Sharks, last in the Pacific Division, continue their five-game road looking to start just their fourth winning streak this season.
William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli scored a goal and added two helpers, and Nico Sturm, Mario Ferraro, Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta also found the back of the net for the Sharks, who are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games.
The line of Eklund, Toffoli, and Macklin Celebrini combined for eight points against the Red Wings.
“They’re two great players that make it pretty easy for me out there,” said Eklund. “We created a lot of chances last game (against Minnesota). We kept going with it (in Detroit) and were able to score some more.
“(Celebrini) makes such good reads, so it’s just being in the right spots, and you’re going to get the puck. When you play with guys like that, you just try to be open.”
With his three-point effort in Detroit, Eklund has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his last six games.
Granlund has a team-leading 25 assists and 37 points in 44 games, while Toffoli paces the Sharks with 16 goals in 46 contests.
Alexandar Georgiev is 2-6-0 with a 3.56 GAA and .887 save percentage in eight starts since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche. In 11 career appearances against the Blue Jackets, Georgiev is 6-2-1 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.94 GAA.
–Field Level Media
