Wild at Sharks preview

WILD (44-26-11) AT SHARKS (45-26-10)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA+, FS-N, NHL.TV

The Sharks hold second place in the Pacific with 100 points. They lead the Anaheim Ducks by one point and the Los Angeles Kings by two. San Jose can also finish in second if the Ducks lose to the Arizona Coyotes and the Kings lose to the Dallas Stars in any fashion.
If the Sharks lose in regulation and either Los Angeles or Anaheim wins, they'll finish third. The Sharks would be the first wild card into the playoffs from the West if they lose in regulation and the Ducks and Kings each win.
Minnesota will finish third in the Central Division and play the second place Winnipeg Jets in the first round.

Players to watch

Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk is 4-2-2 with a 1.72 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in his past eight starts.
Sharks forward Joe Pavelski has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in his past 18 games.

They said it

"If I'm going to come to the rink and get my stuff on I'd rather be playing anyway. It will be a good opportunity for me to kind of focus and concentrate on a few things that have been working for me and really solidify those things going into the playoffs." -- Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who will start but may not play the entire game
"It's an important game for us. Last chance to get ready for the playoffs. We'll see what happens after that."-- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski

Wild projected lineup

Nino Niederreiter -- Mikko Koivu -- Mikael Granlund
Jason Zucker -- Eric Staal -- Tyler Ennis
Jordan Greenway -- Matt Cullen -- Charlie Coyle
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Daniel Winnik
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Nick Seeler -- Ryan Murphy
Louie Belpedio -- Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Scratched:Zach Parise, Gustav Olofsson
Injured: Jared Spurgeon (hamstring), Ryan Suter (fractured right ankle), Luke Kunin (torn ACL)

Sharks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- 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:Joakim Ryan, Jannik Hansen
Injured:Joe Thornton (knee), Barclay Goodrow (broken finger), Eric Fehr (lower body), Melker Karlsson (undisclosed)

Status report

Kane will be a game-time decision after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. ... Parise is expected to be a healthy scratch. ... Spurgeon is expected to resume practicing Monday. ... Belpedio will make his NHL debut.

Stat pack

Dumba has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past five games. ... Burns has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his past nine games.