PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday afternoon in the first of back-to-back games this weekend at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 2:00 MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Sharks

EDMONTON, AB – Bring it home before the holidays.

After fighting back to beat the Boston Bruins in overtime, the Edmonton Oilers will look to keep things rolling into the holiday break when they host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday afternoon in the first of back-to-back games at Rogers Place this weekend.

“It’s Christmas time, but these are two games we can finish strong on,” Assistant Coach Glen Gulutzan said after Friday’s practice.

“We've had a good little stretch. It would be big for us to bank some of these points, so that's what we're kind of focused on."

The Oilers are 9-2-0 in their last 11 games, outscoring their opponents 47-25 after winning four of their last five against top-tier opposition in Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Vegas, bringing their overall record to 19-11-2 with two games left before breaking for the holidays.

"It's always nice when you're able to play against really competitive teams and get the right results because I think the belief is high in this room, and we believe that we can be a really good team," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "With that said, you can say it all you want, but you've gotta go out there and prove it.

"It was a good stretch, I would say, but the unit's not content at all and knows there's still work to be done. We've laid a foundation, but there are still levels to our game that can continue to improve."

Following Saturday’s matinée, the Oilers will close out their pre-Christmas schedule on Sunday night against the Ottawa Senators before having six days off, resuming on Dec. 28 in Los Angeles with the first of back-to-back games against California opposition in the Kings and Ducks.

On New Year’s Eve, the Oilers will conclude their 2024 slate at home with the first-ever visit from Utah Hockey Club to Oil Country.

"You can sniff the energy in the air," Gulutzan said. "It's that time of the year, so we just want to harness it the right way.”

Edmonton finished a difficult five-game stretch against tough opposition on Thursday with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Bruins that saw them trail 2-0 after 20 minutes. Zach Hyman’s eighth goal over his last seven games in the second period split the deficit before Connor McDavid forced overtime by making it 2-2 on his 15^th goal of the season with less than three minutes left in regulation.

In sudden death, Leon Draisaitl produced his 900^th career assist on Mattias Ekholm’s game-winner, finishing with three assists to make it seven straight games for the German with multiple points (6G, 12A).

Draisaitl leads the NHL in goals (23) and is tied for second overall in points (50) after becoming the fourth-fastest player born outside of North America to reach the milestone, accomplishing the feat in his 751st career game.

"An incredible accomplishment," McDavid said. "To do it so quickly, just an amazing feat. He's been amazing all year and for all of his career. It's just impressive to see every single day."

The Oilers captain leads the NHL since Nov. 6 with 35 points (12G, 23A) in 19 games, but Draisaitl is a close second with 34 points (14G, 20A) over the same amount of games. Along with his offensive acumen, Draisaitl has also been delivering on the defensive side as he continues to impress with the growth in his two-way game this season.

“Most nights this year, he's been driving us and it's been a lot of fun to watch,” Darnell Nurse said. “And when you get out there, obviously it's not just the offensive instinct and the plays that he's making – defensively, he’s committed to and his checking has been really good, especially as of late.

“It's really driven our team to follow his lead."

The Oilers have scored three or more goals in 15 of their last 18 games since Nov. 9 and are averaging 4.00 goals per game in that span. Defensively, they've allowed just 2.27 goals per game over their last 11 outings, allowing just 25 goals with a team save percentage of .919.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner owns a strong 5-2-0 record over his last seven starts, posting a .917 save percentage that includes Edmonton's 6-5 loss to Florida earlier this week in the rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

The Sharks have gone 2-8-0 in the month of December, losing six of those in regulation and averaging 2.25 goals per game.

With San Jose having three players ranked inside the NHL's top-10 in rookie scoring, it's another rebuilding year for the Pacific Division Sharks, with 2023 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini leading them offensively this season with 22 points (11G, 11A) in 23 games.

Friday's match will be the first of four between the Oilers and Sharks over the final 50 games of Edmonton's season and will be the first chance for defencemen Cody Ceci and Ty Emberson to face their former teams after being traded for each other in the summer.

Emberson led the stretch circle during Friday's practice at Rogers Place, which featured some new-look defence pairings for the Oilers that could make their debut on Saturday afternoon vs. the Sharks. Evan Bouchard and Emberson swapped places next to Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm on the right side of the first and second pairings, while Brett Kulak was next to Troy Stecher.

Forward Derek Ryan was a fill-in for Kasperi Kapanen on the second line after the Finnish forward wasn't present at Friday's skate.

Assistant Coach Glen Gulutzan gave Kris Knoblauch a break regarding media duties on Friday and gave an educated guess that goaltender Calvin Pickard will get the start for the Oilers against the Sharks.