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Sharks look for eighth straight against Coyotes

Nov 9, 2008 - 9:17 AM San Jose (13-2-0) at Phoenix (6-6-0), 8:00 pm EDT

GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks' success has stemmed from their success at home. With the way they are playing, though, it might not matter where they play.

Armed with the league's best record, the Sharks look to extend their winning streak to eight games when they visit the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday.

Filling in for the injured Evgeni Nabokov, Brian Boucher turned aside 23 shots to help the Sharks remain the only unbeaten team at home (9-0-0) with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Nabokov, the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy last season, was scratched after suffering a lower body injury on the final shot of a shootout victory over St. Louis on Thursday. His status for this game is uncertain.

Thanks to captain Patrick Marleau's game-winning goal with 29 seconds left in the third period, the Sharks also became the fourth team in history to win their first nine home games of a season and the first in 37 years. Todd McLellan is the second rookie coach to accomplish the feat, joining Alex Curry of the 1925-26 Ottawa Senators.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes have not enjoyed as much success, but their young talent has truly come to fruition with the help of some veteran leadership.

Olli Jokinen scored a goal and had an assist to help the Coyotes defeat his former team, the Florida Panthers, 4-1, on Saturday. Traded in the offseason after becoming Florida's all-time point leader with 419, Jokinen has 13 points in 12 games with his new team.

A 10-year veteran, Jokinen came to the desert knowing he would be surrounded budding talent. Taken eighth overall in 2006 and 2008, respectively, Peter Mueller and Mikkel Boedker make up the core of the youngest team in the NHL, and they showed why against the Panthers.

Boedker scored two goals and Mueller added another as the Coyotes notched four unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes. The duo helped support goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who started his fifth consecutive game and made 26 saves.

Bryzgalov may be rested in this game in favor of Mikael Tellqvist, who made 32 saves in his last outing, a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on October 25.