San Jose SharksSan Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver CanucksVancouver Canucks Pick Center

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Time: 10:00 PM EDT Venue: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 6G1 / The San Jose Sharks want to prove they're a Stanley Cup contender -- not complacent. The Sharks (44-26-9, 97 points) have seemingly little to play for in their final three regular-season games after securing home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. But heading into Tuesday's game in Vancouver, the Sharks have lost eight of their past nine. Consequently, forward Logan Couture wants his club to view this week's games -- in Vancouver and Edmonton, and then home against Colorado -- as highly important." They should be," Couture told reporters. "We haven't played well the last two or three weeks here. It seems like we've been stuck in mud on a nightly basis. We're in a tough stretch. One night, we'll have a few guys going; the next night, we'll have a few other guys going. It's never a team effort." The Sharks bowed 5-3 to Calgary on Sunday. The Flames clinched first place in the Western Conference and relegated San Jose to runner-up status. The Sharks mustered a season-low 15 shots and squandered an early lead. The loss came one night after San Jose ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Vegas Golden Knights in a fight-filled game that served as a prelude to the teams' first-round playoff series, a matchup that is already set. The Sharks' lengthy losing skid included losses to lottery-bound Florida, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Detroit and Chicago. But head coach Peter DeBoer has tried to take his team's struggles in stride." We're missing some of our key people here," DeBoer told reporters. The Sharks hope defenseman Erik Karlsson, who has missed 15 games with a groin injury, and captain Joe Pavelski, sidelined the past seven games with an undisclosed lower-body injury, will return in coming days. Forwards Melker Karlsson and Lukas Radil, who missed the games against Calgary and Vegas with undisclosed injuries described as short-term, are also expected to return soon. During the losing streak, DeBoer publicly questioned whether his club was becoming complacent. But he also indicated that the Sharks will be ready for the postseason." When you've got a list of four or five pretty good players sitting out, you're not ready for the playoffs," he told reporters. "If we can get healthy, we know our game. I know we lost seven (straight games), but we've played a lot of good hockey this year. We're confident in our game." Meanwhile, the Canucks enter Tuesday's game on the heels of shootout wins over Dallas and L. A. The will mark the final time in a Canucks uniform at Rogers Arena for some players who are fighting to remain with the team next season, as Vancouver continues its rebuilding process. After Tuesday, the Canucks will conclude their 2018-19 campaign with games in Nashville and St. Louis. But at least one Canuck battling for a spot, veteran defenseman Luke Schenn, 29, already appears to have passed his audition. General manager Jim Benning has expressed interest in re-signing Schenn, a pending unrestricted free agent who was promoted from Vancouver's AHL farm team in February." We've been real happy with him, and he's done everything we've asked," Benning told Postmedia. "He has been physical and excellent with our young players. We're going to talk about (a contract extension) at the end of the year. He's been a pleasant surprise for us." Schenn has drawn praise for his assistance on and off the ice of highly touted Canucks rookie rearguard Quinn Hughes. The two blueliners have partnered since Hughes joined the club recently upon the conclusion of his collegiate career at Michigan. Schenn, drafted fifth overall by Toronto in 2008, was once a highly touted prospect himself, but he morphed into a journeyman. Now with his sixth NHL organization, he has spent most of this season in the minors. He was in Anaheim's system before joining the Canucks organization in a trade for Michael Del Zotto in January. (The Ducks subsequently traded Del Zotto to St. Louis.)"I'm viewed as an old guy, but in reality, I still feel I can play -- and I'm 29 and not 39," Schenn told Postmedia. "I've been given an opportunity in Vancouver I wasn't sure I would get." --Field Level Media

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