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Thornton, Sharks look to rebound against Wild

Dec 11, 2007 - 2:59 PM Minnesota (16-11-2) at San Jose (15-9-4) 10:30 pm EST

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks look to rebound from their worst performance of the season when they host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

The Sharks had a four-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 7-1 setback to the Buffalo Sabres. Sandis Ozolinsh scored in the first period before San Jose allowed a season-high seven unanswered goals over the final two sessions.

The awful outing snapped Thornton's five-game points streak and marked just the fourth time in the last 18 games that the star center failed to record a point.

With the loss, the Sharks fell to just 4-6-2 at home, tying the Washington Capitals for the fewest home wins this season. However, San Jose is an NHL-best 11-3-2 on the road.

Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who has started every game for the Sharks this season and 35 consecutive dating to last campaign, allowed made 21 saves before being replaced by Dimitri Patzold to begin the third period.

Nabokov was arguably the hottest goalie in the NHL before the loss, allowing less than two goals in each of his last eight games while logging two shutouts.

Wild goaltender Nicklas Backstrom has also been hot lately, winning five of his last seven starts - including a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.