Hurricanes at Sharks preview

HURRICANES (11-10-5) AT SHARKS (14-10-2)
10 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-CR, NHL.TV

Martin, 36, has not played since being injured in the Sharks' second game of the season, a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 7. He is expected to play on the second defense pair with Brent Burns.
The Sharks, looking to avoid their third straight loss, will be without defenseman Brenden Dillon, who will serve a one-game suspension for slashing Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey during a 4-1 loss Monday.
Goaltender Cam Ward will make his eighth start of the season for the Hurricanes, who are 2-4-1 in their past seven games. Ward is one win shy of becoming the 32nd goaltender in NHL history to win 300 games. He's 6-2-0 with a 2.84 goals-against average against San Jose.

Players to watch

Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen has one assist in his past five games after having 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his previous six.
Sharks center Joe Thornton has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past seven games. With 1,407 points, he is two shy of tying Dale Hawerchuk for 19th place on the all-time NHL list.

They said it

"This team recently hasn't had any playoff success, and it's important for this team to take that next step. … You have to be confident in your team that you're going to win every game. We need to get that attitude and string something together here or else we'll be on the outside looking in yet again." -- Hurricanes forward Justin Williams
"Any time you're out, it's always tough, but I feel good now and I'm excited to get back in there with the guys." -- Sharks defenseman Paul Martin

Hurricanes projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Jordan Staal -- Justin Williams
Sebastian Aho -- Derek Ryan -- Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn -- Victor Rask -- Elias Lindholm
Joakim Nordstrom -- Marcus Kruger -- Phillip Di Giuseppe
Jaccob Slavin -- Brett Pesce
Klas Dahlbeck -- Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cam Ward
Scott Darling
Scratched: Josh Jooris, Haydn Fleury
Injured:Lee Stempniak (lower body)

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Logan Couture -- Tomas Hertl
Jannik Hansen -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen -- Barclay Goodrow -- Joel Ward
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Joakim Ryan -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Ryan Carpenter, Danny O'Regan
Injured:Joonas Donskoi (lower body), Mikkel Boedker (lower body), Tim Heed (upper body)
Suspended:Brenden Dillon

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Status report

Dahlbeck and Di Giuseppe are expected to return, replacing Fleury and Jooris. ... Karlsson is expected to return after missing two games with a laceration. ... The Sharks placed Boedker on injured reserve to open a roster spot for Martin.

Stat pack

Williams leads Carolina with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 38 games against San Jose.