SHARKS (19-21-4) at BLUES (26-10-7) 8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, NBCSCA, NHL.TV
The Blues eliminated the Sharks with a 5-1 win in Game 6 on May 21. St. Louis is looking to start a season-long five-game homestand with its first win in four games. The Blues went 0-2-1 during a three-game road trip and were outscored 15-8. That includes a 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday that saw them blow a 3-0 first-period lead. The Sharks are 3-1-1 in their past five games and will play the finale of a five-game road trip.
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Players to watch
Sharks center Joe Thornton has six points (one goal, five assists) in the past six games. He'll play his 1,611th NHL game, one behind Ray Bourque for 11th in NHL history. Blues center Ryan O'Reilly has nine points (one goal, eight assists) during a seven-game point streak at home.
They said it
"When you watch the games, it's the commitment to the defending. I think that we're defending harder." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner "Of course very excited. It's the moment I've been waiting for like so long. I've done a lot of work for this opportunity. I'm excited." -- Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola on making his NHL debut
Mikkola will replace Parayko, who will miss his second straight game. … Gunnarsson is close to returning, but coach Craig Berube said he wants to get him into some practice situations first. ... Blais has resumed skating but is still about three weeks from returning.
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Stat pack
Meier has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. ... Perron and Schwartz each has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in their past nine games. ... Pietrangelo has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games.
