Ducks aim to rebound against Sharks

SHARKS (13-11-6) at DUCKS (22-5-4)

TV: CSN-CA, PRIME

Last 10: San Jose 3-5-2; Anaheim 7-2-1.

Season series: This is the fourth of five meetings. The Ducks are 2-0-1 against the Sharks and earned a 5-3 victory in the most recent showdown last Monday at the Honda Center.

Big story: After looking invincible for much of the season, the Ducks have struggled of late. They are coming off back-to-back regulation losses on home ice against the Detroit Red Wings, as they were outscored 7-2 in the two contests.

Monday marks the beginning of a home-and-home series between these clubs. They’ll meet again in San Jose on Wednesday.

Team scope:

Sharks: It’s the finale of a five-game road trip for San Jose. The Sharks are 1-3-0 through the first four contests and are coming off a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center on Saturday. San Jose peppered Niklas Backstrom with 33 shots, but the Wild netminder stopped them all.

"I think whoever scored the first goal was probably going to win that game," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "We had some good chances and just couldn't get it in. Special teams are going to win you games right now."

Ducks: Bruce Boudreau’s club probably couldn’t wait for the Red Wings to leave town. After Detroit cruised to a 5-1 win in the series opener Friday, the Ducks suffered another setback Sunday in a 2-1 decision at the Honda Center.

“As long as we don’t dwell on it to the point where we’re feeling sorry for ourselves now, we’ll be fine,” Boudreau said. “This is a real tough stretch we’re going through against a lot of really good teams. So we have to bring our ‘A’ game every night, or we won’t be successful.”

Who’s hot: Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has two goals and three assists in the past four games, while winger Corey Perry is 2-2-4 in the past five.

Injury report: San Jose goalie Thomas Greiss (neck) and forward Tim Kennedy (undisclosed) are on injured reserve. Forward Ryane Clowe has been battling a shoulder injury. … Ducks forward Nick Bonino (lower body) is day-to-day.