- The Sharks are in eighth place in the Pacific Division with 34 points and a record of 14-27-6. San Jose is 1-4-0 in their last five games. - Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks in assists (25) and points (37) in his second season with San Jose.

The San Jose Sharks locker room has an illness running through it, which has caused some players to be game-time decisions against the Islanders. Timothy Liljegren didn't participate in the morning skate but is one of the players dealing with an illness. He is still an option to play.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in.

The New York Islanders have activated forward Simon Holmstrom off injured reserve ahead of their Saturday night game against the San Jose Sharks, per the media site.

The San Jose Sharks will look to right the ship after a disappointing loss on Thursday with a victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

When the New York Islanders relieved Barry Trotz of his duties as head coach following the 2021-22 NHL season, his assistant coach, Lane Lambert, was hired in his place. Lambert elected to hire Doug Houda, his former Detroit Red Wings teammate who had been an assistant with Detroit since 2016 and an NHL assistant since 2006.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders look to stop their three-game home slide with a victory against the San Jose Sharks. New York is 17-20-7 overall and 7-11-2 in home games. The Islanders have a -20 scoring differential, with 115 total goals scored and 135 allowed.

Like several other pending unrestricted free agents around the NHL, San Jose Sharks center Nico Sturm figures he’ll be moved to another team before the NHL trade deadline in March if he doesn’t receive a contract extension offer.

A perfect three-game road trip convinced the New York Islanders they were on the verge of mounting another midseason push for a playoff berth. But losses

Utah gets two days off before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Canadiens have been among the league’s hottest teams the last few weeks, beating teams like the Washington Capitals, the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.

Sharks beat Detroit Red Wings with barrage of third period goals “Realistically, as long as nothing’s done, I might probably expect to get moved,” Sturm told this news organization in late December. “If there’s no contract extension,