Penguins goalie Matt Murray will play for the first time since Jan. 7 after traveling home to Ontario on Jan. 17 following the death of his father, James Murray. He returned to practice Jan. 22, was scratched against the Carolina Hurricanes the following day and backed up rookie goalie Casey DeSmith in a 6-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 25. Pittsburgh is 7-2-0 in its past nine games, but one of those losses was 2-1 at San Jose on Jan. 20. Sharks goalie Martin Jones will start for the first time since Jan. 18, when he allowed five goals on 22 shots in a 5-3 loss against the Colorado Avalanche. He has missed four games because of an undisclosed injury.
Players to watch
Sharks defenseman Brent Burns has eight assists during a six-game point streak. He has 16 points (one goal, 15 assists) in his past 12 games. Penguins forward Sidney Crosby's next goal will be his 400th in the NHL. He has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) during a season-long nine-game point streak.
They said it
"I think we were very cautious with [goaltender Martin Jones' injury]. We could have rushed him back last week. … We wanted it to be 100 percent to avoid any kind of setbacks." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer "We feel as though [goalie Matt Murray] is in a really good place. He's had a number of good practices. We think, mentally, he's prepared to be at his best." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
The Sharks re-assigned goalie Troy Grosenick to San Jose of the American Hockey League and recalled O'Regan on Tuesday. … Hunwick is expected to miss a second straight game.
Stat pack
The Sharks have seven players with 10 or more goals this season, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets for second-most in the NHL. Only the New York Rangers have more (eight). … The Penguins have scored multiple power-play goals in four of their past eight games.
