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NHL on NBCSN: Wild look to snap five-game losing streak against slumping Sharks

Minnesota Wild v San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 18: Jason Zucker #16 of the Minnesota Wild in action against the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion on April 18, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2016-17 campaign tonight when the Minnesota Wild host the San Jose Sharks at 8:30 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.

For most of the season, the Wild and Sharks have been regarded as two of the best teams in the Western Conference. But as of late, both have struggled to get themselves in the win column.

The Wild spent a good chunk of the year at the top of the Central Division, but thanks to this recent stretch that’s seen them lose five games in a row and eight of their last 10, they now find themselves behind Chicago.

Head coach Bruce Boudreau’s frustration reached a new level on Sunday, as his team found themselves down 4-0 against Winnipeg in the second period. They managed to tie the game at four before allowing the Jets to jump back ahead 5-4 in the third frame.

“Hey, listen … we stunk in the first,” Boudreau said after the loss, per NHL.com. “We better come back in the second. It’s not resiliency. You make it sound like we’re good. That’s all. I’m done.”

Clearly, he’s not a happy man these days. Why would he be? The Wild now trail the first-place Blackhawks by seven points with 11 games to go.

Things aren’t as bad in San Jose as they are in Minnesota, but the Sharks simply haven’t been good lately.

They still hold a four-point lead over Edmonton for top spot in the Pacific and they’ve also accumulated five more regulation/overtime wins.

The problem, is that the Sharks are coming off three straight losses to St. Louis, Anaheim and Dallas (last night), and they’ve managed to score just two goals during the losing streak.

“Chances are there,” head coach Peter DeBoer said after last night’s 1-0 loss to the Stars, per CSN Bay Area, “so we’ve just got to bear down and we’ve got to get one dirty or ugly around the net. We’ve got to get one on the power play some way. It’s not all bad by any means. There’s a lot of good that’s going on, but right now we’re cold. We’re paying a price for that.”
Tonight’s game against the Wild will be San Jose’s second of a four-game road trip that will see them head back to Dallas on Friday before playing in Nashville on Saturday. Overall, six of their next seven games will be played away from home.