Pacific division foes meet as the San Jose Sharks take on the Vancouver Canucks. Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each.

Poturalski, 31, is the American Hockey League’s leading scorer with 41 points in 45 games with the Barracuda this season. He and goalie Yaroslav Askarov represented the Barracuda in the AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday and Monday in Palm Desert.

The Canucks have dominated the Sharks historically, winning nine of the past 10 matchups. That trend should continue against a bad San Jose team that has made itself worse with the departures of Granlund and Ceci, as well as the demotion of their best netminder, Yaroslav Askarov.

On this busy NHL slate, the San Jose Sharks head home for a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each.

With only two games remaining before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Vancouver Canucks travel down to San Jose for a single-game road trip to battle with the Sharks. Note the 7:30 p.m. PT start time for Thursday night’s game.

With Vitek Vanecek back in the mix following an injury, the Sharks have opted to send highly touted goaltender Yaroslav Askarov back to the AHL. That means Vanecek (.885 SV%) and Alexandar Georgiev (.879 SV%) will be tasked with stopping pucks on a nightly basis.