The 33-year-old defenseman will appear in his 428th consecutive regular-season game, San Jose's longest active streak; Burns has not missed a game since the 2013-14 season. The Sharks look to avoid their fourth straight defeat, which would match their longest losing streak this season; they're 0-1-2 in their past three games after a season-long five-game winning streak. San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson will serve the second game of his two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner on Saturday. The Ducks also look to avoid a fourth consecutive loss; they have been outscored 9-2 in three defeats after going 9-1-0 in their previous 10 games.
Players to watch
Ducks forward Ondrej Kase has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games. Sharks center Logan Couture has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in his past 18 games.
They said it
"This is a big game for us because as of late it hasn't been very good and we want to get back to that feeling before that." -- Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano "I know we're playing a team that's very deep down the middle, and to be able to stick [Tomas] Hertl in the middle I think is a luxury for us. Hopefully it works and we can continue on with it." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on moving Tomas Hertl to third-line center
Fowler resumed skating earlier this week, and Rakell is close to returning to the ice. … Thornton and Pavelski will be reunited on the top line, and Hertl will move from second line wing to third-line center as part of a four-line shuffle. … Ryan will return to the lineup after being scratched 11 straight games.
Stat pack
Gibson is 9-4-0 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in his past 14 games (13 starts). … Hertl has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games and is one point shy of 200 in the NHL.
