COLUMBUS – Pete DeBoer is attempting to return to the club in time for Sunday evening’s Sharks game in Columbus, after he missed Saturday’s 3-1 win in Pittsburgh due to a personal matter.
“There’s a chance he’s going to have an opportunity to get here for the game tonight,” assistant coach Steve Spott said about two hours before game time. “Hopefully that all works out. That’s where we’re at right now. He’s on route, and we don’t know what time he’s going to get here. He’s catching a flight out of New York so hopefully he’ll get here sooner than later.
“But, it’s business as usual for us. Obviously with airline transportation we don’t know how that’s going to go. Hopefully he’s here, and if not we’ll carry on and he’ll get on here at some point.”
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Whether DeBoer makes it, the Sharks will be attempting to sweep a six-game road trip for the first time in franchise history. They have never swept a road trip longer than four games.
It won’t be easy, as they’ll be playing just 22 hours after dropping the puck in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Columbus has won four of its last five, including a 4-0 win over Nashville at home on Friday.
The Blue Jackets beat the Sharks at SAP Center on Nov. 3, 5-2. San Jose is 1-4-0 in its last five trips to Nationwide Arena, with its lone win coming in a shootout.
“We’ve got a chance here to do something special,” Spott said. “They’re in a good frame of mind, it’s a confident group right now, but we also understand our opponent and how hard they are and desperate they are. We know what they did in our building against us.”
San Jose Sharks
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Alex Stalock will make his first start since Nov. 5 against Florida, facing Sergei Bobrovsky. The Sharks' backup goalie is 1-3-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.
Bobrovsky is 8-9-0 with a 2.98 GAA and .902 SP, but in his last seven starts, he’s 6-1-0 with a 1.72 GAA and .946 SP.
Spott revealed that Micheal Haley would draw back into the Sharks’ lineup, but did not say who was coming out.