Meier is second on the Sharks in goals (13) and tied for third in points (23) despite missing the past three games with an upper-body injury. Goaltender Martin Jones, who made 40 saves in a 3-1 victory at the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, will make his third straight start for the Sharks, who are coming off a 1-3-1 road trip. The Hurricanes are 0-1-1 in their past two games and 1-2-1 in their past four. They've scored two or fewer goals in four straight games and have allowed two or fewer in four of their past five. Goaltender Curtis McElhinney will start for the Hurricanes. He's 4-0-1 with a 1.40 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in his past five starts. Defenseman Brett Pesce will return for Carolina after missing nine games with a lower-body injury.
Players to watch
Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho has one point, an assist, in his past four games after having eight points (three goals, five assists) in his previous seven. Sharks forward Joe Pavelski has a four-game point streak (four goals, two assists) and 16 points (six goals, 16 assists) in his past 11 games. He leads San Jose in goals (17) and is tied with Meier for third in points (23).
They said it
"I think the key for me will be just to keep it simple to start and kind of get adjusted back to the pace of the game. As the game goes on I'm sure I'll get more comfortable."--Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce "I feel really good now. It's going to be exciting to go out there and compete with the team again." --Sharks forward Timo Meier
Ferland will miss his third straight game. ... Simek, who played 13:19 and was plus-1 in his NHL debut against Montreal, will be in the lineup again.
Stat pack
Carolina ranks second in the NHL in takeaways (298) and fourth in hits (714). ... Burns has a four-game point streak (one goal, four assists). Thornton will play is his 1,513th NHL game, one shy of tying Steve Yzerman for 18th place on the all-time list.
