Preview: Bruins close out season series against Sharks tonight

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, TVAS, SN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Fear The Fin

Know your enemy

*Stats prior to the Sharks’ game against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night

• 14-23-9, 37PTS, 7th in Pacific Division
• Erik Karlsson: 46GP, 15G, 47A, 62PTS; Timo Meier: 46GP, 26G, 20A, 46PTS; Tomas Hertl: 44GP, 14G, 27A, 41PTS
• James Reimer: 8-13-4, 3.23 GAA, .897 save percentage; Kaapo Kahkonen: 5-8-4, 3.87 GAA, .870 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins will wrap their season series against the San Jose Sharks tonight at the TD Garden.
• It’s also the Bruins’ last home game this month before heading out on a five-game road trip.
• The Bruins last saw the Sharks on Jan. 7, when they defeated them, 4-2. Brad Marchand and Craig Smith put the Bruins up early in the first period, but the Sharks bounced back to even the game om tallies from Logan Couture and Mario Ferraro. period on the power play before scoring another in the third for his second of the game.
• The Bruins have outscored their opponents 24 to 9 in their last five games. They continue to have the best goals against in the league, allowing only 96 goals so far. They’re also second in the NHL at goals for with 173, just one goal shy of the Edmonton Oilers’ 174 goals.
• San Jose has one of the lower goals against with 175.
• Both teams, however, are strong on the penalty kill. The Bruins’ PK is 87% while the Sharks is at 84.2%.
• The B’s defense has seen a boost of production in the last few games. The blueline has added five goals in the last four games from four different defensemen. Connor Clifton, Charlie McAvoy and Derek Forbort each had one, while Matt Grzelcyk scored in back-to-back games.
• The Bruins are streaky! Marchand is on a four-game point streak with two goals and four assists. Pavel Zacha has three goals and two assists in his last three games. David Krejci is on a three-game point streak with six assists.
• Stats prior to Sharks’ game last night: For the Sharks, Karlsson has two goals and six assists in his last five games. On Jan. 18, he registered a four-point game — his fourth time this season doing so. Meier has three goals and three assists since Jan. 10.
• Brandon Carlo skated in a regular jersey during yesterday’s practice. Head Coach Jim Montgomery expects he’ll play, but will know for sure later today. Montgomery said he thinks Carlo “got drop foot nerve.”
• On injury news though, the Bruins announced yesterday that Tomas Nosek will miss four weeks after sustaining a non-displaced fracture in his left foot.
• Joona Koppanen looks to be taking his place centering the fourth line at least for now. He centered Nick Foligno and A.J. Greer during practice. Koppanen has only played in two games this season. The Bruins will be bringing up another forward though before heading up on the road, Montgomery said.
• See ya tonight!