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Red Wings hope to get on track against streaking Sharks

Oct 28, 2011 - 2:55 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of teams that have been heading in opposite directions lately will get together tonight, as the Detroit Red Wings host the San Jose Sharks at Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings began the year with a 5-0 record, but have since allowed 11 goals in consecutive losses to Washington and Columbus. San Jose, meanwhile, started with a 1-3 mark before turning things around with its current three- game winning streak.

After getting trounced by a 7-1 score in Washington on Saturday, the Red Wings were looking for a bounce-back performance in Tuesday's game at Columbus. What they got instead was another rough outing.

Steve Mason stopped 30-of-31 shots as Columbus won for the first time in nine games to start the season. Darren Helm provided all the offense for the Red Wings with a first-period tally.

"We're not scoring. That's been the problem these last two games," Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg said. "We haven't been able to score goals. We've been in games, creating chances, but we can't put the puck behind him."

Ty Conklin surrendered three scores on 31 shots and fell to 1-2-0 on the season. Jimmy Howard, who is 4-0 on the year, will be back between the pipes tonight after skipping the trip to Columbus to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Howard is 3-2-1 with a 2.81 goals-against average in six career tests against the Sharks.

San Jose is halfway through a six-game road trip and the Sharks hope the swing ends the same way it began. The Sharks are 3-0 on the trek, notching wins in New Jersey, Boston and Nashville to improve to 3-1-0 as the visiting club this season.

The Sharks' most recent victory came Tuesday in Nashville, as Joe Pavelski scored twice in a 3-1 victory over the Predators. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton each assisted on both of Pavelski's goals, while Logan Couture also posted a short-handed tally.

Nashville's Craig Smith tied the game at 1-1 with 6:48 left in the third, but Pavelski notched the go-ahead goal just 57 seconds later. He then added an empty-netter to seal the victory for San Jose.

Pavelski leads San Jose with six goals this year, giving him four more tallies than the next-closest Shark. The 27-year-old has five goals and five assists in 17 career games against the Red Wings.

Antti Niemi made 19 saves to improve his record to 3-1-0 on the season. The former Chicago Blackhawks netminder has seven career appearances against Detroit and is 5-1-1 with a 1.97 GAA versus the Red Wings.

San Jose took the final three meetings with Detroit last season and the Sharks have won four of five overall in this series. The Red Wings have lost their last three home tests against the Sharks.