Game Day: Edmonton Oilers shift gears from top dogs to lowly Sharks

By Gerry Moddejonge 6 Min Read

Published Dec 21, 2024  •  Last updated 10 hours ago  •  2 minute read

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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 09: Darnell Nurse #25 of the Edmonton Oilers is congratulated by teammates after he scored a goal against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at SAP Center on November 09, 2023 in San Jose, California. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson /Getty Images, file

Edmonton Oilers (19-11-2) at San Jose Sharks (11-19-5)

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TV: Sportsnet. Radio: 880 CHED.

TIME: 2 p.m. Saturday

Odds: Sharks +320, Oilers -420

THE SETUP

The Oilers are coming off a harsh stretch facing a handful of the top teams in the NHL right now, and took four out of five wins. Now, the third-place team in the Pacific gets a visit from the bottom feeders in this divisional matchup. Edmonton comes in having won six of seven, while the Sharks have lost six of seven.

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LEON ALONE ON TOP

Leon Draisaitl leads the league with 23 goals and sits second overall with 50 points in 32 games. Mikael Granlund leads the way for the Sharks, sitting tied for 34th in scoring with 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games.

PICKING PICKARD

With playing back-to-back this weekend, the Oilers are going with backup goalie Calvin Pickard this afternoon. The 32-year-old is 7-3-0 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage on the year.

THE POLL

How many wins will the Oilers end up with in December?

  • 6-7
  • 8-9
  • 10-11

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THE QUOTE

“The playoff race, the positioning race is always so tight, every point matters. Even the points in December, these count too. So, these are games that we’ll have to be up for and ready to take care of business.”

• Oilers captain Connor McDavid

THE LINEUPS

SAN JOSE

Forwards

Goodrow – Granlund – Zetterlund
Kovalenko – Celebrini – Toffoli
Eklund – Wennberg – Smith
Grundstrum – Sturm – Kunin

Defence

Walman – Ceci
Ferraro – Rutta
Thrun – Mukhamadullin

Goalies

Georgiev
Askarov

EDMONTON

Forwards

Draisaitl – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Nugent-Hopkins – Kapanen
Arvidsson – Henrique – Brown
Skinner – Janmark – Perry

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Defence

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Emberson

Goalies

Pickard
Skinner

INJURIES

SHARKS: G Vitek Vanecek (head)

EDMONTON: None

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge


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