ESPN NHL

San Jose (28-23-8) at Anaheim (28-20-12) 10:30 pm EST

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - A pair of teams in dire need of a victory to improve their positioning in the playoff race meet Tuesday when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim host the San Jose Sharks.

Both clubs are on the outside looking in at a playoff spot in the Western Conference with the Mighty Ducks just four points behind eighth-place Edmonton. The Sharks are in 11th, eight points out of a playoff spot.

Anaheim is 2-1-1 on a four-game homestand that began before the Olympic break after a 3-2 shootout loss to Columbus on Sunday. Andy McDonald scored with 2:24 left in regulation as the Mighty Ducks forced the extra session before going 0-for-3 in the shootout.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 32 saves and held the Blue Jackets scoreless for the game's final 46:42 but suffered his league-leading 11th overtime loss.

The Sharks returned to action after the Olympics to extend a winning streak to four games, but since have scored just two goals in dropping two straight. They held a 34-30 shots advantage and won 34-of-64 faceoffs but still dropped a 2-0 decision at Calgary on Saturday.

The shutout loss nearly was identical to the last time these two teams met February 4, when the Mighty Ducks posted a 2-0 triumph. Todd Fedoruk and Teemu Selanne scored to back up Giguere, who made 35 saves in his 21st career shutout.