Thornton, who tore the ACL and MCL in his knee on Jan. 23 last season against the Winnipeg Jets and had season-ending surgery, played the first two games this season before being sidelined. The Sharks have points in five straight games (4-0-1). The Rangers are winless on the road (0-4-1) and squandered a 2-0 lead in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Sunday.
Players to watch
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 41 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Sharks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 11. Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, who needs one assist for 400 in the NHL, has no goals and seven assists this season.
They said it
"He's got to play better. He's a really talented player. He's had some inconsistencies in his game." -- Rangers coach David Quinn on taking forward Pavel Buchnevich out of the lineup "I think it's just kind of a number. It's a nice number, I guess, but I believe there's a lot more after that number." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski on playing in his 900th NHL game Tuesday
Vesey will move from left wing on the top line to the third line, trading places with Namestnikov. ... Fast goes from right wing on the fourth line to the third, with Buchnevich scratched. Lettieri will take Fast's spot on the fourth line. ... Forward Dylan Gambrell was sent to San Jose of the American Hockey League when Thornton was activated from injured reserve.
Stat pack
Burns (13 points; two goals, 11 assists) and Meier (11 points; seven goals, four assists) each will try to extend eight-game point streaks. They can become the second set of teammates in Sharks history with simultaneous point streaks of at least nine games, joining Todd Elik and Pat Falloon, who had 10-game streaks from Jan. 15-Feb. 8, 1994.
