Panthers at Sharks preview

PANTHERS (30-27-12) at SHARKS (43-19-8)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-F, NHL.TV

San Jose, which leads the Western Conference and Pacific Division by one point over the Calgary Flames, won seven straight games from Jan. 2-15, have gone 15-3-1 in their past 19 games
The Sharks can clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they defeat the Panthers and the Minnesota Wild lose to the Dallas Stars in regulation, or if they win, Minnesota gets one point, and the Arizona Coyotes lose to the Anaheim Ducks in regulation.
Rookie goalie Sam Montembeault will make his third straight start for the Panthers, who trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by nine points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Florida has won two straight after a six-game losing streak (0-2-4).

Players to watch

Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau has a three-game goal and multipoint streak with nine points (four goals, five assists).
Sharks forward Timo Meier has a seven points (five goals, two assists) in a six-game point streak.

They said it

"The kid's on a groove right now and feeling good. I don't want to mess with that chemistry. I think he's earned the right to be in the net." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner on rookie goalie Sam Montembeault
"When we set out to start the season we wanted a ticket to the playoffs because that's always the first step. Hopefully we can get that accomplished." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov
Frank Vatrano -- Vincent Trocheck -- Mike Hoffman
Dryden Hunt -- Riley Sheahan -- Troy Brouwer
Jamie McGinn -- Henrik Borgstrom -- Jayce Hawryluk
Mike Matheson -- Aaron Ekblad
Keith Yandle -- MacKenzie Weegar
Mark Pysyk -- Josh Brown
Sam Montembeault
Roberto Luongo
Scratched: Ian McCoshen, James Reimer
Injured:Colton Sceviour (wrist), Denis Malgin (lower body)

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Logan Couture -- Joe Pavelski
Joonas Donskoi -- Tomas Hertl -- Gustav Nyquist
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley -- Barclay Goodrow -- Melker Karlsson
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Tim Heed
Brenden Dillon -- Justin Braun
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Lukas Radil, Dylan Gambrell
Injured:Erik Karlsson (groin), Evander Kane (mid-section), Radim Simek (right knee)

Status report

Simek will have knee surgery after sustaining an injury against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and there is no timetable for his return. Ryan will move into the lineup. … Kane, who had been away from the team for personal reasons, was cleared for contact and skated for the first time since Saturday. He could return to the lineup against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Stat pack

Barkov has nine points (two goals, seven assists) during a three-game, multipoint streak. … Thornton will play his 1,555th NHL game, passing Jarome Iginla for sole possession of 13th on the all-time list.