PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers play their penultimate home game of the regular season tonight against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:30pm MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Sharks

EDMONTON, AB – A single point earned or a Calgary Flames loss on Friday night is all the Edmonton Oilers need to clinch their sixth consecutive berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Oilers will host the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place, looking to secure a second straight win and fourth in six games this month after Wednesday's thrilling 4-3 triumph over the St. Louis Blues that saw Connor Brown bury the winning goal with just 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

Tonight's matchup is the second of three between the Oilers and Sharks in a span of just 14 days this month, as Edmonton earned a 3-2 win in San Jose on April 3, and the teams will conclude the regular season against one another back at SAP Center this coming Wednesday.

Their first meeting of the season came on Dec. 21 in Edmonton as the Oilers dramatically outshot the Sharks 42-22 but needed an overtime tally from Leon Draisaitl to close out a 3-2 victory, with San Jose netminder Yaroslav Askarov making 39 saves.

There were late third period heroics required for the Oilers that night as well, with Mattias Ekholm scoring the equalizing goal with just 18 seconds remaining in regulation.

Connor McDavid assisted on all three Oilers goals in that game and – after missing their meeting in San Jose earlier this month – also had three helpers on Wednesday vs. St. Louis in his return to the lineup following an eight-game absence.

The captain said his first game back after an injury was equal parts physically and mentally challenging.

"Coming back from injury sucks mentally for any athlete, but especially in hockey – so unpredictable," said McDavid, who played 20:35 in the win. "There's so many variables, things that you can't account for. It's nice to get that out of the way."

The Oilers roster has been ravaged by injuries and illness over the final weeks of the season, and on Wednesday they were forced to play with just five defencemen as Jake Walman was a late scratch and the team was already without Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg.

Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak each surpassed 28 minutes of playing time in the win over the Blues, while Troy Stecher and Ty Emberson also saw an uptick in their usage.

"All those five played really well in stepping up," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "All of them playing more minutes than they usually have and then also just the partners switching it up pretty much every shift. Great job by those five. They put in a really good game."

Edmonton won't be without a sixth blueliner on Friday, though, as Cam Dineen was recalled from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on an emergency basis.

And just as they embraced their captain's return on Wednesday, the Oilers will welcome another player back to the lineup against the Sharks as goaltender Stuart Skinner will dress for the first time since exiting the March 26 game against the Dallas Stars after a collision with Mikko Rantanen.

It will be determined at morning skate whether Skinner will start or back up Calvin Pickard, who has tended the twine in all but one of the games Skinner has been out and gone 4-2-0 in that span with a 2.83 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

With just four games left before the playoffs, McDavid said he's optimistic the team can be fully healthy and ready to play their best in time for the post-season puck-drop.

"It'd be great to have our full lineup in and get everybody up and running together and rolling like a big machine," the captain said. "But obviously that's not the case, and it falls on everybody as individuals to make sure they're doing whatever they've got to do to be ready come that opening game. I know I'm doing everything I can. I see guys around here doing everything they can. Obviously not ideal timing, but we're a good team in here. We'll figure it out."

Heading into Friday's divisional clash, the Oilers have won 12 of their last 13 games vs. the Sharks – outscoring them 60-24 in that span – as well as six consecutive home meetings vs. San Jose.