NHL Thursday: San Jose vs. Winnipeg

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The Thursday night NHL slate will feature a late-night game between the San Jose Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets.

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This is the only meeting of the season between San Jose and Winnipeg. The Jets took the last meeting between the two franchises on Oct. 16, 2010, when the then-Atlanta Thrashers doubled up the Sharks 4-2 at HP Pavilion.

With San Jose getting hot and climbing the West standings and Winnipeg scrapping for a spot in the East's top eight, hockey fans and Broadway fans alike should be excited by the Sharks first visit to Winnipeg to rumble with the Jets since 1996. There is no truth to the rumor that composer Stephen Sondheim will be on hand for a ceremonial puck drop.

San Jose lost to Minnesota 5-4 in a shootout Tuesday night, but prior to that the Sharks had gone 8-1-1 in their previous 10 games. The hot play has not only surged the team up the standings, but it has also left head coach Todd McLellan feeling pretty after clinching one of the head coaching spots at this season's All-Star Game by virtue of the Sharks' points percentage at the season's halfway point. As it stands now, San Jose, which hasn't lost consecutive games in regulation in more than a month, holds a seemingly comfortable lead in the Pacific Division. The Sharks are two points ahead of second place Los Angeles with a remarkable four games in hand.

In fact, the Sharks hold multiple games in hand on both Dallas and Phoenix, the only other teams it appears could conceivably catch San Jose in the Pacific. Tuesday's shootout loss to the Wild didn't help matters, but the Sharks still took a point out of the loss and the four goals against are unlikely to shake No. 1 goalie Antti Niemi. The Finnish netminder has just one regulation loss in his last 12 starts.

Something's coming to Winnipeg, and it just might be playoff hockey. Fifteen years after the NHL left Manitoba, the Jets are challenging for a postseason berth in their first season back in the League, knocking on the door of the top eight as they fight with the Capitals and Penguins for playoff position. In addition, Winnipeg trails first-place Florida by just a quintet of points, while having the same number of regulation and overtime wins, which could prove crucial down the stretch as the first tiebreaker.

Those postseason hopes were significantly damaged, however, by the Jets' recently-wrapped four-game road trip, in which they went a dismal 0-3-1 while being outscored 17-8. One cause for the slump might be the sudden struggles of left wing Evander Kane.

The Jets will continue to push to the post season when they lace them up against the Sharks on Thursday night.