Stars at Sharks preview

STARS (40-31-8) AT SHARKS (44-25-10)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA+, FS-SW+, SN1, NHL.TV

The Sharks, who clinched a playoff berth when the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday, lead the Kings by two points and the Anaheim Ducks by three. San Jose has lost three straight games (0-2-1) after a season-high eight-game winning streak and can match its longest losing streak since going 0-2-2 from Jan. 23-31.
Sharks forward Evander Kane will miss the game with an undisclosed injury.
Goalie Kari Lehtonen will make his eighth straight start for the Stars, who were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday.

Players to watch

Stars forward Tyler Seguin has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past three games and 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in his past 19.
Sharks forward Logan Couture has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"We need to be focused and ready to go. They whooped us pretty good the last time we were in here, and if we're not prepared and ready to go from the beginning, that might happen again." -- Stars forward Jamie Benn
"There's lots up for grabs. Home ice, positioning. You want to be playing well going into the playoffs. We're not throwing any parades. I think the expectation of our group from Day 1 was we would be in this spot." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Antoine Roussel -- Radek Faksa -- Tyler Pitlick
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Spezza -- Gemel Smith
Remi Elie -- Devin Shore -- Brett Ritchie
Marc Methot -- John Klingberg
Esa Lindell --
Julius Honka
Dan Hamhuis -- Greg Pateryn
Kari Lehtonen
Mike McKenna
Scratched:Dillon Heatherington
Injured:Ben Bishop (back), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (concussion)

Sharks projected lineup

Melker Karlsson -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney --
Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen
--
Dylan Gambrell
-- Joel Ward
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Tim Heed, Jannik Hansen, Joakim Ryan
Injured:Evander Kane (undisclosed), Joe Thornton (knee), Barclay Goodrow (broken finger), Eric Fehr (lower body)

Status report

Bishop and Johns are not on the trip. … DeBoer said he hadn't decided who will take Kane's spot on the top line. … Gambrell is expected to make his NHL debut.

Stat pack

Benn has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past 10 games. … Hertl has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past 10 games.