SAN JOSE -- The last time the Sharks squared off with the Islanders, they couldn't get the puck to the back of the net.
But after their strong performance on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres, the Sharks are a confident bunch headed into Saturday night's contest.
Joe Pavelski pinpointed the early power play goals Thursday giving the Sharks an offensive boost.
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"That goes a long way," the captain said. "We had traffic, we played a pretty quick game as far as our power play. Direct and clean."
Getting the early goal, whether it's on the man advantage or at even strength, is something that gave the Sharks momentum against the Sabres. And it's something they surely want against a New York Islanders team that's working to establish an identity in the early post-Jon Tavares era.
"They're a hard team to play against," coach Peter DeBoer said, reflecting on when the Sharks visited the Isles earlier in the month, "We got behind (in New York) and that's not a team you want to play from behind against."
In their last bout with the Islanders, the Sharks registered 35 shots on goal and were 61 percent in the faceoff circle. But they were unable to capitalize on their chances, including two power play opportunities early in the second frame. It was the Isles who notched the power play goal that period, with Anders Lee converting while Evander Kane was in the penalty box on a slashing call.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks went into the third frame down one goal, and were unable to get on the scoreboard.
That isn't to say San Jose can't jump out late in a game if they need to, as the team displayed with a strong third period against Buffalo on Thursday. As they skated onto the ice after the second intermission with a 2-1 lead, the Sharks hemmed the Sabres in their own zone and set up Logan Couture to notch San Jose's third goal on the evening.
Unlike their previous tilts against the Rangers and Devils, where the offense took their foot off the gas with a 2-1 lead in the third, the Sharks kept the offensive momentum going with the two-goal cushion.
A key for Saturday's tilt? Building off that offensive surge from the win against the Sabres and applying it against the Isles.
"[New York] found a way to break it open," Pavelski said of the 4-0 loss on October 8. "We need to keep trying to find our offense on a consistent basis."