The San Jose Sharks (2-3-0) head east to face the surprising New Jersey Devils (6-1-0) in their first road game of the young season.

The Sharks are coming off a nice win on Tuesday ending the five-game home stand with a 2-3 record. They haven't been great, but SJ is heading in the right direction. Thanks in part to some chemistry developing among the lines. Having a few days off could only have helped to solidify that chemistry.

Tonight's opponent should be a big test for the aging Sharks. That may sound strange considering we are talking about the Devils - a team nobody expected to be very good this season. And to be fair, they may not be that good, but...they have won six of the first seven games by scoring a ton of goals and they've done it against some very good teams.

The teal and black will have a bit of luck on their side going into tonight's puck drop. Thee first place Devils are playing the second game of a back-to-back. They defeated the Ottawa Senators last night, rally from a two goal deficit in the third period to win in overtime. NJ flew home last night for tonight's game in Newark.

The Sharks are beginning a five-game road trip and haven't played since knocking off the Canadiens on Tuesday. The fatigue factor favors the Sharks big time.


What to watch for...

- San Jose must hold the Devils to under three goals if they want to have a shot at 2 points tonight. The Devils are 5-0 when scoring more that three goals in a game. The Devils rank second in the NHL in goal scoring with an average 4.29 goals per game and have scored more than five goals four times in seven games. This young team can score in bunches. The Sharks defense will earn their paycheck tonight.

- The team that wins the special teams battle will win this game. New Jersey leads the league in power play goals for and against. This should bode well for a formidable Sharks power play, but not so much for the 11th ranked penalty kill.

- Keith Kinkaid should get the nod for NJ in net. He was very good in relief of the injured Cory Schneider in Ottawa and won his only start this season. Martin Jones was solid in the victory over Montreal. He too will have his work cut out for him with the Devils averaging nearly 32 SOG per game.

- San Jose will need more production for their younger, faster skaters to keep pace with NJ. The Devils can flat out fly. It's a major deviation from previous incarnations of that team.

- If the Sharks jump out to a lead, they better not let up. NJ trailed in the third in each of the last two games before rallying for the win.

- The Sharks are led by Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc offensively. Each has three goals and five points through the first five games. Nobody else on the Sharks has more than three points. NJ has nine players with more than five points led by Taylor Hall with nine (1g 8a).

- After tonight, San Jose will either have their first win streak of the season or the Devils will have won five-in-a-row and seven on their first eight.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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