Sharks  0    Blue Jackets  3

San Jose Sharks (39-11-9) at Columbus Blue Jackets (24-27-9), 7 p.m.

Sports Network | February 10, 2010

(Sports Network) - The Sharks used excellent play at home last year en route to winning the Presidents' Trophy. This year, San Jose is on top of the Western Conference thanks in part to its play on the road.

The Sharks will try to match a club record for consecutive road wins this evening when they face a Columbus Blue Jackets club at Nationwide Arena that has won two straight since making a coaching change.

Last season, the Sharks had the league's best home record at 32-5-4, helping them post the most points in the NHL. This year, San Jose has a league-leading 20 road wins and is tops in the West with 87 points. That has the club one back of Washington for the most in the league.

San Jose has won each of its last nine games on the road, including the first three tests of a six-game road trip that will carry the club into the Olympic break. The Sharks' record for most consecutive wins away from home is 10, set from November 14-December 31, 2007.

The Sharks were last in action on Monday, when they notched a 3-2 triumph in Toronto. Ryane Clowe had the game-winner in the third period, while Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski also scored. Evgeni Nabokov totaled 32 saves, as the Sharks improved to 11-1-2 in their last 14 games overall.

"We weren't very good in the first period and we were clearly outworked," said San Jose head coach Todd McClellan. "So we shuffled things around a bit and got things to work in the third. Still wasn't one of our best games."

San Jose will try to hand Columbus its first loss tonight since replacing head coach Ken Hitchcock with Claude Noel last Wednesday. The Blue Jackets went 22-27-9 under Hitchcock, but have bested Dallas and Buffalo under Noel.

Columbus posted a 4-0 victory over the Sabres on Saturday in Noel's second game. Steve Mason made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season and club- record 13th of his career. He had shared the mark with Marc Denis, who posted 12 shutouts in his Columbus career. Mason, last season's Calder Trophy winner, notched back-to-back wins for the first time since mid-October.

Rick Nash, Anton Stralman, Milan Jurcina and Raffi Torres each had a goal for the Blue Jackets, who haven't won three in a row since January 7-10. Jakub Voracek picked up three assists in the win.

"We played a lot of minutes and we are pretty confident right now," Voracek said. "We just have to keep going, you know, keep working hard and the goals are going to come. You just have to be patient."

Columbus, which is 10 points back of a playoff spot, is playing its final five games before the Olympic break at home, where it is 14-9-5 this year. The Blue Jackets will also host Vancouver on March 2 in their first game after the break to complete the lengthy homestand.

San Jose has won both of its meetings with Columbus this year, including a 3-2 shootout win at Nationwide Arena on November 4. The Sharks have won seven of the last nine meetings overall, but have lost four of their last six in Ohio.