Martin Jones started San Jose's past 11 games against the Ducks; however, he sustained a lower-body injury in a 5-3 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday and is day-to-day. Dell made 31 saves in a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center on Saturday to improve to 9-0-1 with a .932 save percentage since Nov. 28. The Sharks have won four of their past five games. John Gibson is expected to start for Anaheim. He's 5-1-1 in his past seven starts, allowing 13 goals in that span. The Ducks were 11th in the Western Conference standings on Dec. 21. They've gone 8-3-1 since, but remain 11th.
Players to watch
San Jose forward Joe Pavelski has two assists in the past three games but hasn't scored an even-strength goal since Dec. 1. Ducks forward Corey Perry has two goals and an assist against San Jose this season. He also scored a shootout goal in a 3-2 win against the Sharks on Nov. 20.
They said it
"Just trying to put your head down and get through it. Another tough one (Sunday). We're trying to give them as much rest as possible." -- San Jose coach Peter DeBoer on playing for the sixth time in nine days "We're striving to garner as many points as we can until the All-Star Break. That's our mindset. ... There are only so many games left and these four-point games are paramount for us to climb into the playoff picture." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
Jones did not make the trip to Anaheim. Grosenick, recalled from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Friday, has appeared in two NHL games. … Carlyle will coach his 833rd NHL game. He's the only person to appear in at least 1,000 NHL games as a player and 800 or more as a coach.
Stat pack
The Sharks are 10-8-4 when their opponent scores first this season, the second-best winning percentage (.455) in the NHL behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (.500). … The Ducks are 11th in the League in face-off winning percentage (51.1) after leading the NHL last season (54.7).
