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Sharks eye eighth straight home win

Nov 6, 2008 - 11:23 AM St. Louis (5-6-0) at San Jose (11-2-0) 10:30 p.m. EST

SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks are taking full advantage of their home ice.

The Sharks look to remain perfect at home this season when they host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

San Jose has won seven straight games at HP Pavilion to open the new campaign and could tie the franchise record for consecutive wins at home in a single season set from January 24-March 3, 2004.

The Sharks have won 12 games in a row at home dating back to last season and look to continue that streak against the Blues, who have dropped five straight meetings with San Jose and are just 1-12-1 against the reigning Pacific Division champions since January 3, 2004.

Evgeni Nabokov has been the key to the Sharks' dominance over the Blues, posting a 5-1-1 record with two shutouts over his last seven starts against St. Louis. This season, Nabokov is 9-2-2 with a 2.62 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.

The Blues may have a difficult time snapping the Sharks' five-game overall winning streak as they could be without leading scorer Paul Kariya, who left Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in the second period with a lower body injury and did not return.

Kariya recorded his team-high 15th point when he set up Andy McDonald's goal early in the middle period before leaving. It was speculated that Kariya suffered a hip flexor, but Blues coach Andy Murray was unsure of the nature of the injury.

"We don't really know yet," Murray said. "I don't know what the extent of the injury is, but he couldn't finish the game."