Sharks look to halt losing skid in Winnipeg

SHARKS (10-2-4) at JETS (7-9-2)

TV: CSN-CA, TSN-JETS

Last 10: San Jose 4-2-4; Winnipeg 3-5-2

Season series: The San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets, now Western Conference rivals, meet for the first of three times this season. Antti Niemi pitched a 24-save shutout during their most recent meeting on Jan. 12, 2012, a 2-0 Sharks victory.

Big story: The Sharks begin a five-game road trip in which they will play the Jets, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks in an eight-day span. The Jets are looking for their first two-game winning streak since starting the season 2-0-0.

Team Scope:

Sharks: After not allowing more than three regulation goals in 14 straight games, the Sharks have lost four straight and have allowed four goals in regulation in each of their past two games; a 5-4 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday followed by a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

"I don't think we played very well in the first and the second. Tonight we just couldn't catch up. We have to be better in the first two [periods.] It starts there," Joe Thornton said after the loss to the Canucks.

San Jose, who had been 5-0-0 at home, lost all three home games during their latest homestand.

"These last couple of games … when our best players aren't our best players, we're not going to win," Logan Couture said. "And that's what's been happening, especially in the Western Conference."

Jets: Winnipeg used a four-goal outburst in the first period to beat the Nashville Predators on Friday, 5-0. The offense was clicking as was the goaltending; Ondrej Pavelec made 41 saves for his first shutout of the season.

"I [hadn't played] in a few games so I felt a little bit nervous," Pavelec said. "I just wanted to help the guys get the win. For me, I was just trying to stay focused all game and not get pulled."

Bryan Little had two goals in the victory and Blake Wheeler had two assists. The win was the third for the Jets (3-7-1) against the Central Division.

"A night like tonight, we'll take the 5-0 game," Jets coach Claude Noel said. "It wasn't necessarily a clinic, but we'll take the win. We've had enough heartache for a while; we'll take one of these."

Who's hot: Sharks center Tommy Wingels brings in a five-game point scoring streak (two goals, four assists). … Little has five goals in his past six games for the Jets.

Injury report: Forwards Raffi Torres (knee), Adam Burish (lower body) and Brent Burns (upper body) are on injured reserve for the Sharks. ... Center Jim Slater (hernia) and defensemen Jacob Trouba (upper body), Paul Postma (blood clot) and Mark Stuart (hip) are on IR for the Jets.