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The San Jose Sharks haven’t gotten off to a good start on their latest homestand and will next face a team that’s been playing with confidence and has a chance to make history.San Jose looks to avoid its third straight loss at SAP Center on Saturday night when they meet the Philadelphia Flyers for the last time in 2018-19.Coach Peter DeBoer noted that the Sharks didn’t have a lot of jump in the first of four straight on home ice during Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. He saw some improvement — but not enough — in a 4-1 setback to the Columbus Blue Jackets.Article continues below ...“We’re just doing enough to hope to win John Moore Jersey Womens ,” DeBoer said Thursday. “You’re not going to win many games in this league scoring one goal.”Logan Couture outlined what went wrong for San Jose (6-4-3).“We didn’t pass well, we didn’t play hard enough,” the Sharks center told the team’s official website. “We didn’t spend enough time in their end, we didn’t forecheck, we turned too many pucks over. When you go down the list, we did a lot of things wrong tonight and got what we deserved.”One positive was that Couture extended his points streak to eight games with an assist, giving him five goals with eight helpers during his run. He’s also posted two goals and two assists in a three-game streak versus the Flyers.Philadelphia (6-7-0) started its annual visit in the Golden State with a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday followed by a 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.It marked the first time the Flyers have won back-to-back games this season — and put coach Dave Hakstol’s club in position for the first road sweep of California teams in franchise history, according to STATS LLC.“We’ve played pretty good hockey at different times. We haven’t been consistent enough. What we’ve been able to do the last two nights is put consistent play together for 60 minutes Chris Wagner Jersey Womens ,” Hakstol said Thursday.Philadelphia was handed its worst loss of the season when it faced San Jose on Oct. 9. Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane each scored twice to power the Sharks in an 8-2 rout.In nine games since then, Kane has managed only six assists. Pavelski, meanwhile, has two goals and two assists in a three-game points streak at home versus Philadelphia.That game also marked the most goals allowed in one game by the Flyers’ Brian Elliott (4-5-0, 3.10 goals-against average). The 12-year veteran has surrendered two goals in each of his last three starts on the road and says teamwork is the key to the club’s West Coast success so far.“We’re just playing as a group of five on the ice. We always say the cliches, but that’s what it is. It’s everybody working hard for each other,” said Elliott, who is 4-3-1 with a 2.55 GAA and one shutout over eight career games in San Jose.After getting the night off against Columbus Alex Galchenyuk Jersey Womens , Martin Jones (5-3-1, 2.66 GAA) is expected start for the Sharks. He’s 2-1-1 at SAP Center this season, stopping 92 of 101 shots.One player to watch for Philadelphia is winger Wayne Simmonds. The 11-year veteran registered his second career hat trick in the Flyers’ 5-3 win on Oct. 4, 2017, in San Jose.Simmonds scored his team-high seventh goal in the victory over Los Angeles. The Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins both stumbled coming out of the Christmas break on Thursday.The Sabres lost 4-1 to the Blues in St. Louis and the Bruins lost 5-2 to the visiting New Jersey Devils.They will be trying to find their grooves Saturday night in Buffalo.Article continues below ...“It’s a team we’re chasing right now,” Bruins defenseman Torey Krug told reporters Friday after practice. “We’ve had a lot of tough games against them, close games. I think they’ve been on the winning side of few more of them than us lately. So, it’s a big match.”The Sabres (21-12-5) have a three-point lead over the Bruins (20-14-4).“You have this next little bit here where you’re still in that midpoint of the season and then all of a sudden it gets to be the stretch run Carter Rowney Jersey Womens ,” Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo said after practice Friday. “That’s when teams are fighting, they’re really clawing for every point. But points now are the same as points then.Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will miss the game Saturday with a lower-body injury. They could also be without left winger Brad Marchand, who played Thursday despite being ill and then took a stick to the chest and let the game. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was not optimistic about his chances to play.Boston forward David Backes has been suspended three games for his check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman during Thursday’s game, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Friday.The Sabres could have right winger Jason Pominville back in the lineup Saturday. He was injured Dec. 18 in the game against the Florida Panthers when he collided with teammate Rasmus Ristolainen. Pominville practiced Friday.“We’ve earned the right to be where we’re at,” Pominville said. “But at the same time, there’s a still a lot of work to be done. It’ll fun to see the team grow through this adversity, the challenge of seeing teams ready to play us.“Maybe at the start when we were winning, we might’ve caught teams off guard a little bit. But now that they know they come in here Luke Schenn Jersey Womens , they’re going to face a good team, they’re going to face a team that depth that plays well and plays hard.”Sabres center Jack Eichel scored his 15th goal of the season Thursday, but the Sabres are still lacking scoring from their supporting cast.“We’ve got to find a way,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “And I’ll continue to say it: If you want to score in this league, you’re going to have to get dirty once in a while and you’re going to have to go to the net. It’s going to get harder as we move forward here. That’s a challenge for us.”Despite the injuries to McAvoy and Marchand, the Bruins are becoming whole again.Left winger Jake DeBrusk and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller all returned Thursday.Chara missed 19 games after he wrenched his left knee Nov. 14 against the Avalanche at Colorado.Miller missed 13 games after suffering a fractured larynx Nov. 26 at Toronto when he was hit in the throat by a deflected shot.DeBrusk was hit in the head by the puck on a shot from a teammate in the Nov. 26 game, played for the next four games and then missed the next nine games with concussion symptoms.