Oilers at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks look to remain perfect on their five-game homestand when they face off against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. San Jose kicked off its stretch at SAP Center with a 5-2 triumph over Edmonton and followed with a 2-1 victory against Minnesota before blanking Nashville 2-0 on Saturday. Joe Thornton recorded a goal and an assist while Antti Niemi made 29 saves en route to his 29th career shutout - second this season - as the Sharks won their sixth straight home game and seventh time in eight overall contests.
The Oilers have lost five straight since skating to a 2-1 win over visiting San Jose in the opener of their home-and-home series on Dec. 9. The club dropped 15 of 16 games before relieving Dallas Eakins of his coaching duties on Monday, but the change had no immediate effect as Edmonton suffered a 2-1 overtime loss at Arizona the following night in Todd Nelson's debut behind the bench. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the lone goal for the Oilers, who will be facing the Sharks for the third time in 12 days.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, RSN360 (Edmonton), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE OILERS (7-19-6): Nelson, who was summoned from Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League to replace Eakins on an interim basis, was happy to have general manager Craig MacTavish with him behind the bench to serve as a mentor. "It was nice to have a guy with that much experience behind the bench with me, being able to consult with each other on different matchups, line matchups and strategies," Nelson told the team's website. "It was a great experience for me." Center Boyd Gordon could return to the lineup Thursday after missing five games with a sore back.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (17-11-4): Thornton's two-goal performance Saturday raised his career total to 1,222, drawing him within seven of tying Norm Ullman for 38th place on the all-time list. The former Hart Trophy winner also trails Phil Esposito (873) by one assist for 22nd in NHL history. Patrick Marleau is in a major funk, scoring just one goal in his last 10 games and three over his past 27 contests after beginning the season with four tallies in five outings.
OVERTIME
1. Nugent-Hopkins' goal on Tuesday was his eighth of the season, tying him with LW Taylor Hall for the team lead.
2. San Jose C Joe Pavelski leads the team with 15 tallies, including five in his last six contests.
3. Edmonton has scored two goals or fewer in each of its eight games this month.