San Jose Sharks hosts the Dallas Stars in their fourth meeting of the season and the first this year
The final game of Saturday will be played at the HP Pavilion Center as the home team San Jose Sharks play host to the Dallas Stars.
This will be the fourth time that the teams meet each other and the first time they face each other after the New Year.
The Stars won the first and second games, 5-4 and 3-2, while the Sharks have won the most recent meeting between the two sides by 4-3.
All the three games went into overtime to be decided with the second one decided in shootout.
One of the hottest teams in the league currently is the Sharks. They have not only moved into the top half of the table but have won their last eight games.
Their most recent win was against Detroit Red Wings which they won 3-1.
They are on a six-game road trip out of which they have played two games and won both games.
Stars have been struggling and during the month of February they maintained a 1-8-1 record.
However, the Stars moved into the play-off cut after scoring a point in the 4-3 overtime loss to Anaheim Ducks.
The Stars were in a comfortable position to win the game as they led 3-1 with less than fifteen minutes of play left to play for.
However, their shocking defence resulted in Ducks scoring three important goals to win the game by 4-3 in the end.
The important point that they missed may prove to be fatal as the end of the regulation season approaches and the things tighten up for the teams trying desperately to make it into the play-off cut.
"It is always a bad feeling when you lose, especially when you lose like this," said forward Loui Eriksson, who scored the last of the Stars' three goals in the second period. "We were up 3-1 going into the third. Every point is so big right now, like you
see in the conference. We have a game tomorrow and we have to go out and win and get two points there."
The Stars have played 64 games so far in the season out of which they have won 34 games in regulation time, seven games in overtime to score a total of 75 points.
Sharks have played 65 games during the course of the season out of which they have won 38 games in regulation time, six games in overtime to score a total of 82 points.
Antti Niemi will be starting in his 21st consecutive National Hockey League. In the last 20 starts he has made, the Sharks maintain an impressive record of 17 regulation time wins.
He has helped strengthen their department of defence a lot and come up with some splendid performances. He will be a key in the game and if he performs to the best of the best of his abilities like he has been so far.
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