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Sharks look to turn things around against Canucks

Mar 7, 2009 - 11:24 AM San Jose (42-11-10) at Vancouver (33-22-8), 10:00 p.m. EST

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks will attempt to get untracked Saturday when they visit the Vancouver Canucks.

While the Sharks are tied with Detroit (43-14-8) atop the Western Conference at 94 points, the club is in the midst of a 1-3-1 stretch.

San Jose's struggles were punctuated in Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota. The Sharks opened a 3-0 lead by the second period, but squandered the advantage and lost in overtime when Mikko Koivu scored with 13.3 seconds left.

The Sharks' Brian Boucher, who made his fourth straight start in place of top netminder Evgeni Nabokov, had a forgettable game. His biggest gaffe came on Marek Zidlicky's game-tying goal - a backhander from mid-ice that skipped between his pads.

Boucher could be in net again as Nabokov continues to recover from a bout with the flu and a minor groin strain.

Left wing Travis Moen and defenseman Kent Huskins, who were acquired by San Jose from Anaheim on Wednesday, are expected to make their debut with the club.

While the Sharks have had their problems, the Canucks are 11-2-0 since the start of February.

Vancouver's success can be traced to goaltender Roberto Luongo, who has won 11 of his last 12 games and hasn't given up more than two goals in his past six starts.