Ex-Stanley Cup combatants Penguins, Sharks following similar paths
In the building where they battled for the Stanley Cup three years ago, two of the NHL’s hottest teams will meet when the Pittsburgh Penguins face the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night at SAP Center.
The teams have traveled remarkably similar paths this season.
On Dec. 1, the Sharks dropped a 6-2 decision to Ottawa to fall to 12-10-5. They’re 15-3-2 since.
On that same date, the Penguins suffered a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia to drop to 10-10-5. They’re 15-4-1 since.
While the Penguins seem to have stabilized after an eight-game winning streak, going 2-2-0 in their past four games, the Sharks are still on a roll. They’ve won six in a row, including an undefeated record during a grueling stretch of five games in eight days.
“A while back — a month, two months ago, whatever it was — we were kind of talking that our game was trending in the right direction,” San Jose captain Joe Pavelski said. “We started winning two and three. Lately we’ve been able to turn three into four and five. If we lose a game, we’ve been able to bounce back and won the next couple.
“It’s good to see because there are tough stretches. We went through one early in the year. When you’re playing well, you’ve got to put points in the bank.”
Injury update
Justin Schultz, out since Oct. 13 with a broken bone in his left leg, skated in a red no-contact jersey after the Penguins practiced Monday in San Jose.
Coach Mike Sullivan said he could take part in practice relatively soon.
“We’re waiting for the doctor to give him clearance to join the team, but he is definitely making progress,” Sullivan said. “Just having my own conversations with him, with every day that he skates, he feels a little bit stronger. My sense is that I don’t think it’s too far off.”
Zach Aston-Reese, out with a hand injury, skated in warm-ups. Patric Hornqvist, out with a concussion, resumed skating in Pittsburgh on Friday, Sullivan said.
Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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