Since being traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 27, Reimer has gone 2-1-0 with one shutout, while giving No. 1 goaltender Martin Jones some much needed rest. Reimer has stopped 74 of 79 shots faced.
"He's been great," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "This guy's a starting goalie in the NHL, and it's a great luxury to have."
The Sharks will be without top-pair defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body) and third-line forward Matt Nieto (broken knuckle) for the second straight game. Vlasic is considered day-to-day. Nieto said he is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
Nieto said he was injured blocking a shot in the second period of a 3-1 loss to Arizona on Thursday at Gila River Arena. He broke a knuckle on his right index finger.
"I tried playing a few shifts after that but it continued to get worse," Nieto said.
DeBoer said he expects Nieto to be ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Nieto agreed.
"I've just been told the time frame's going to be 3-4 weeks," Nieto said. "So I'm going to do everything I can. I'm positive that I'll be ready."
Tommy Wingels will take Nieto's spot in the lineup again, and Dylan DeMelo will play his second straight game in place of Vlasic.
Arizona goalie Mike Smith, who will start Sunday, made 27 saves against San Jose on Thursday and continued his dominance of the Sharks. He is 10-5-2 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .941 save percentage against San Jose in his career.
"For me, he's the best puck-handling goalie in the League," DeBoer said. "I thought that we allowed him to handle it way too much last game, so we have to clean that up. He's a big guy. We've got to get in his eyes, make him uncomfortable, keep him deep in his net. You got to give him some credit too. He was very good. He's an elite guy. When you have those type of guys you got to try and get as much traffic as possible."
Smith is 2-0-0 since returning after missing 40 games because of surgery to repair an abdominal injury in December. Backup goalie Louis Domingue played in the 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (shoulder), who has missed five straight games, was one of four Coyotes who skated Sunday morning. Coach Dave Tippett said Ekman-Larsson is doubtful Sunday.
Here are the projected lineups:
COYOTES
Alex Tanguay - Antoine Vermette - Anthony Duclair
Tobias Rieder - Martin Hanzal - Viktor Tikhonov
Max Domi - Brad Richardson - Shane Doan
Jordan Martinook - Boyd Gordon - Kyle Chipchura
Kevin Connauton - Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck - Zbynek Michalek
Nicklas Grossman - Michael Stone
Mike Smith
Louis Domingue
Injured: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (shoulder), Anders Lindback (Achilles surgery), Joe Vitale (fractured orbital bone)
Scratched: Sergei Plotnikov, Philip Samuelsson, Jiri Sekac
SHARKS
Tomas Hertl - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson - Logan Couture - Joonas Donskoi
Patrick Marleau - Chris Tierney - Joel Ward
Tommy Wingels - Nick Spaling - Dainius Zubrus
Dylan DeMelo - Justin Braun
Paul Martin - Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon - Roman Polak
James Reimer
Martin Jones
Injured: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body), Matt Nieto (hand), Matt Tennyson (head)
Scratched: None
Status report: Plotnikov has started nine straight games, but will be a scratch. Chipchura could return to the lineup after being scratched the past six games. Sekac will likely be scratched for the sixth straight game. ... Tippett said a couple players are dealing with minor injuries and that he might have to adjust his lineup. Samuelsson, a defenseman who was an emergency call-up Friday from Springfield of the American Hockey League, is an option, if needed. He did not skate Sunday morning.
Who's hot: Thornton has a four-game point streak with two goals and three assists. ... Hertl had a career-high three assists Saturday in a 4-1 victory against the New York Rangers, extending his point streak to four games (1-5--6). ... Vermette has four goals and two assists in his past four games. ... Stone has a goal and three assists in his past three games.
