Can Sharks remain kings of the road in Columbus?

Although the San Jose Sharks are tied for the fewest regulation losses at home in the NHL, it's their sterling play on the road that is turning heads of late.

The Sharks carry a six-game road winning streak into Saturday's tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who will open their five-game homestand by introducing trade acquisition Matt Duchene to the crowd at Nationwide Arena.

San Jose has outscored the opposition by a 31-14 margin and is 8-for-26 on the power play during its road winning streak, which was extended after the Sharks opened a four-game trek with a physical 4-0 victory vs. Pittsburgh on Thursday.

"We just started a road trip, and it was a huge game for us. We need this game before we have the three tough games coming up," said Tomas Hertl, who scored a pair of power-play goals against the Penguins.

Hertl has nine goals to go along with five assists in his last 10 contests, with the Sharks posting an 8-1-1 mark.

Defenseman Brent Burns has 12 of his club-best 56 assists and 15 of his team-leading 68 points in that 10-game stretch.

Against Pittsburgh, Kevin Labanc set up a pair of power-play goals to boost his point total to 10 (six goals, four assists) in his last nine contests. The 23-year-old, who also scored his team's lone tally in a 4-1 setback to Columbus on Nov. 1, is aware that the Sharks reportedly have entertained dealing him prior to Monday's trade deadline.

"I have no control over what they think or do," Labanc told the San Jose Mercury News of his team's personnel moves. "I just need to give it my all every game and prove that I'm part of this team."

Duchene became a part of the Blue Jackets after he was acquired from Ottawa on Friday in exchange for fellow forwards Vitaly Abramov and Jonathan Davidsson, a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional first-round selection in the 2020 draft.

"We have a good team and we want to win this spring," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "We want to win. We want to prove to our fan base that we are serious about winning and we are in to win it.

"(Duchene) was the guy that we had targeted. The No. 1 guy for our needs, and that's why we're willing to take the risks he could just be a rental."

Columbus posted a 3-0 win over the Senators on Friday to pull even in points with Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Josh Anderson continued his torrid streak with his seventh goal in 11 games in the win. The 24-year-old, who pushed his career-high goal total to 22 on the season, also tallied in the first meeting with the Sharks.

Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 44 saves in that first encounter with San Jose and turned aside 22 shots against the Senators on Friday to improve to 6-2-0 this month. The two-time Vezina Trophy recipient likely will give way on Saturday to fellow goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who has permitted 11 goals during a personal three-start losing skid.

--Field Level Media