Oilers at Sharks
Two Pacific Division rivals heading in opposite directions face off Thursday as the last-place Edmonton Oilers visit the San Jose Sharks. The clubs are separated by only six points, but Edmonton has earned only one in losing three straight contests (0-2-1).
Being on the road does not instill confidence in the Oilers, who are a league-worst 5-14-3 away from home and have dropped six straight (0-4-2). San Jose enters with a three-game winning streak and tied with Vancouver for third in the Pacific with two games in hand. Defenseman Brent Burns has been a key contributor for the Sharks of late as he is riding an eight-game point streak and has notched eight goals and nine assists over his last 11 contests. Edmonton rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory at home in its first meeting with the Sharks this season on Dec. 9, and coach Todd McLellan hopes to earn another two points as he makes his first visit to San Jose since parting ways with the club last spring.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Edmonton), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE OILERS (17-23-4): Nail Yakupov hopes to return to the lineup Thursday after missing the last 21 games with an ankle injury. The 22-year-old Russian, who participated in Wednesday's practice, has recorded only two goals and 10 assists in 22 contests this season. Zack Kassian, who was acquired from Montreal on Dec. 28 following a stint in the NHL's substance abuse program, may make his Oilers debut against San Jose after being recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (21-18-2): San Jose will be without Dainius Zubrus, who was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury after registering one goal and one assist in his first 17 games with the club. Raffi Torres was added to the roster and assigned to the Barracuda of the American Hockey League for conditioning after completing his 41-game suspension for a hit to the head of Anaheim's Jakob Silfverberg during a preseason contest and recovering from right knee surgery Dec. 11. "We know Raffi can be a very effective player for our team, and this assignment will allow him to get back into game shape," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters of Torres, who hasn't appeared in a non-exhibition game since Game 7 of San Jose's first-round playoff loss to Los Angeles on April 30, 2014.
OVERTIME
1. Sharks C Joe Thornton has landed on the scoresheet in 11 of his last 12 games, recording four multi-point performances in that span.
2. Edmonton C Matt Hendricks continues to serve his three-game suspension for boarding Florida's Aaron Ekblad on Sunday.
3. San Jose captain Joe Pavelski, who leads the team in goals (22) and points (42), has registered two tallies and two assists during his three-game point streak.