• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Flyers host Sharks in battle of slumping teams

Feb 21, 2008 - 1:33 PM San Jose (31-21-8) at Philadelphia (30-24-6) 7:00 pm EST

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - The Philadelphia Flyers hope to end an eight-game losing streak when they host the struggling San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Philadelphia, which is 0-7-1 during the skid, is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. It is the team's longest winless streak since going 0-9-1 from December 2-27 last season.

Goaltenders Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki have had their turns in net, but neither has been able to slow down the opposition. Biron, who has started five of the setbacks, has allowed 17 goals over that span.

The Flyers, who have the second-ranked power play in the league, have also struggled with the man-advantage, failing to score on their last 21 chances.

However, Philadelphia isn't the only team that's desperate for a win as San Jose comes in with problems of its own.

The Sharks, who are playing the fourth game of a season-long eight-game road trip, have lost a season-high five straight contests - including one in overtime.

San Jose dropped a 3-2 decision to New Jersey on Wednesday, marking the fourth one-goal loss during the skid.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored his 16th goal of the season in Wednesday's loss, while leading scorer Joe Thornton has just one goal and one assist during the team's recent slide.

San Jose, which still doesn't have a player with 20 goals this season, is 1-5-1 on the road since the start of January.

This is the first and only meeting between the two teams this season. The Sharks won the only contest last season, 6-1, at San Jose.