Sharks at Lightning preview

SHARKS (15-13-2) at LIGHTNING (13-10-3)
7 p.m. ET; SUN, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

The Lightning are 1-3-1 in their past five games, including a 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday at home, where they are 2-4-0 in their past six games.
The Sharks have lost their past two games (0-1-1) after going 11-2-0 in their previous 13. San Jose is 4-0-1 in its past five games on the road.

Players to watch

Sharks forward Logan Couture has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in his past 14 games.
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) during a seven-game point streak.

They said it

"You have to check and you have to defend well. If that can be your priority, I think you have the ability to get enough offense to beat [the Lightning]." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"It starts in the [defensive] zone. We're working hard throughout the games. We're battling hard. Obviously, playing some good teams. I think we've got to stick to our structure, stick to our game plan, and see it through for a full 60 minutes." -- Lightning center Anthony Cirelli

Sharks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Logan Couture -- Barclay Goodrow
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Patrick Marleau
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Noah Gregor -- Dylan Gambrell -- Melker Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Erik Karlsson
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon -- Mario Ferraro
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Lean Bergmann, Tim Heed, Lukas Radil
Injured:Antti Suomela (undisclosed)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Tyler Johnson -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Pat Maroon -- Cedric Paquette -- Yanni Gourde
Alex Killorn -- Carter Verhaeghe -- Mathieu Joseph
Victor Hedman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Jan Rutta
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Luke Schenn
Injured: Braydon Coburn (lower body)

Status report

Coach Jon Cooper said the Lightning will dress 12 forwards and six defensemen. … San Jose held a full morning skate after taking an off day on Friday. … Maroon took part in the Lightning's optional skate after taking a maintenance day on Friday.

Stat pack

Erik Karlsson has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games. … Point has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games.