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There and back again: Blue Jackets, Sharks wrap season set

Feb 9, 2011 - 4:01 PM (Sports Network) - A season series that began months ago in Sweden will end tonight in central Ohio, as the Columbus Blue Jackets host the red-hot San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena.

San Jose and the Blue Jackets met on Oct. 8 and 9 in Stockholm as part of the 2010 NHL Premiere series and each club wound up winning a game at the Ericcson Globe Arena.

The only meeting in North America resulted in a 3-0 home win for the Sharks on Nov. 20. San Jose has taken four of seven in the series, but the Blue Jackets can also claim five victories over the last nine encounters.

The Sharks have lost three of four and five of their last seven games as the guest in this series.

San Jose has won four in a row and the Sharks have gone nine straight without a regulation loss, posting an 8-0-1 record over that span.

The hot streak has helped San Jose vault up the Western Conference standings in a hurry. After a loss to Edmonton on Jan. 13 the Sharks were four points out of a playoff spot, but San Jose is fourth in the West standings heading into today's contest.

The Sharks picked up their fourth win in a row Wednesday night in Washington. Logan Couture and Dan Boyle scored in the third period and Antti Niemi made 25 saves to lift San Jose to the 2-0 victory.

"This (win streak) is exactly what we needed," said Couture. "We are not out of the playoff race yet -- this is the Western Conference, which is always very tight. There's still a lot of hockey to be played and we need to keep this rolling."

Niemi recorded his fourth shutout of the season and second in a row, having made 26 saves in Saturday's 2-0 win against Boston. Niemi has started the last nine games for San Jose and could make it 10 straight tonight.

The Sharks are 3-0 so far on a seven-game road trip, improving their away record to 16-9-3 this season.

The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, have won three in a row for the first time Dec. 27-31 and are coming off Tuesday's win in Pittsburgh. Columbus hasn't won four straight since a season-high five-game winning streak from Nov. 17-24.

Steve Mason made 32 stops to help Columbus take the 4-1 decision over the Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center.

Rick Nash and Jakub Voracek each had a goal and an assist while Samuel Pahlsson and Antoine Vermette also scored for the Blue Jackets.

"We'll take a win in this building against a real good club," said Columbus head coach Scott Arniel. "We came out strong and never let up. It was a real solid road game for us."

Columbus, which is 13-12-1 as the home team, is currently 12th in the West and just four points out of a playoff spot. The Blue Jackets are also just seven points in back of the Sharks.