Programming note: Sharks-Oilers coverage starts tonight at 7pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 21-18-2, 44 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Oilers: 17-23-4, 38 points, 7th Pacific Division
The latest
Sharks: The Sharks ran their winning streak to three games with a 4-1 victory at Winnipeg on Tuesday, with Alex Stalock (21 saves) backstopping the win in net. San Jose improved to 15-6-2 on the road, but is just 6-12-0 at home. The Sharks are still looking for their first back-to-back wins of the season at SAP Center, where they beat Toronto on Saturday in their most recent home game, 7-0.
Oilers: Edmonton dropped its third in a row in Arizona on Tuesday, 4-3 in overtime, despite holding a 3-1 lead in the third period. The Oilers are 2-5-2 in their last nine, and have just five wins in 22 road games (5-14-3).
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Chris Tierney. The second-year center scored just his second goal in a manned net on Tuesday in Winnipeg, an impressive shorthanded effort, and has one point in each of his last three games since a brief stint with the AHL Barracuda. The Sharks have gotten a needed boost from their depth scoring lately, and the 21-year-old Tierney has played a big role in that success.
Oilers: Leon Draisaitl. The third overall pick in the 2014 draft, Draisaitl is averaging a point-per-game with 10 goals and 24 assists to place second on the team in scoring. The 20-year-old, who had one goal and one assist on Tuesday in Arizona, leads the Oilers with a plus-eight rating.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Tommy Wingels – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Oilers
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Iiro Pakarinen
Benoit Pouliot – Leon Draisaitl – Jordan Eberle
Nail Yakupov – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Rob Klinkhammer
Andrej Sekera – Brandon Davidson
Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Mark Fayne – Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot (confirmed starter)
Anders Nilsson
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.85 (6th)
Goals-against per game: 2.76 (23rd)
Power play: 21.0 percent (7th)
Penalty kill: 79.7 percent (17th)
Oilers
Goals per game: 2.39 (23rd)
Goals-against per game: 2.98 (26th)
Power play: 17.4 percent (23rd)
Penalty kill: 78.7 percent (23rd)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Dainius Zubrus (upper body) and Raffi Torres (right knee) are out.
Oilers: Nail Yakupov (sprained ankle) is probable. Connor McDavid (clavicle), Oscar Klefbom (broken finger) and Andrew Ference (undisclosed) are out.
Season series
Edmonton won the first game of the season series, Dec. 9, 4-3 in overtime. The teams meet again on March 8 at Rexall Place, while the Oilers return to San Jose on March 24.
The Sharks are 20-3-5 in their last 28 games against the Oilers.
Odds and ends
*Brent Burns has a career-high eight-game point streak (6g, 6a). According to Elias, it is the longest point streak in franchise history by a Sharks defenseman.
*Joe Thornton has at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games (5g, 11a).
*San Jose is 14-1-0 when leading after the first period, and 17-2-0 when scoring first.
*Zack Kassian is expected to make his Oilers debut after he was acquired from Montreal on Dec. 28.
