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Sharks can maintain stingy defense vs. Red Wings

Dec 2, 2006 - 4:20 PM San Jose (19-7-0) at Detroit (14-6-4) 7:00 pm EST

DETROIT (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks have been fortunate to be able to call upon a pair of solid goaltenders lately.

Either Vesa Toskala or Evgeni Nabokov will get the assignment for the Sharks, who try to win for the seventh time in eight games Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Looking to set a season high with their fifth straight victory, the Sharks fell short in their bid for three consecutive shutouts in Wednesday's 2-1 triumph over the Minnesota Wild.

Joe Pavelski scored his third goal of the season and Steve Bernier snapped a 1-1 tie with his eighth tally. Nabokov made 15 saves to raise his record to 7-5-0.

Toskala stopped 29 shots in Tuesday's 2-0 triumph over the St. Louis Blues and is 12-2-0 with a 1.98 goals-against average.

After a five-game losing streak, Detroit has won two in a row, including Friday's 3-0 victory over the Wild. Six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek made 20 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 72nd of his career.

However, the Red Wings have been reluctant to use the 41-year-old Hasek on consecutive days because of a tender groin, which has plagued him for the past few seasons. "The Dominator" is 11-4-3 this season.

Robert Lang scored a tie-breaking goal in the third period to give Detroit a 2-1 win over San Jose on October 25, which evened the season-series, 1-1.