We’re in the home stretch folks. The Sharks wrapped up its home season with a loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Now, the final two games are on the road, facing the two Pacific Division teams in Alberta.
Things start in Edmonton, where the Oilers are gearing up for the playoffs. Captain Connor McDavid says he’s going to play tonight after missing three games with an injury. It’s an important return for McDavid. In the past few years, he’s run away with the Art Ross Trophy for the league’s most valuable player, but this season, it’s a vicious race to the end.
McDavid has 99 assists this season, one shy of 100. However, he only has 130 points, which places him third in the league. That’s right, there are two players ahead of McDavid on the points list. Nikita Kucherov has 141 points. He’s two shy of reaching 100 assists. And, Nathan MacKinnon has 138 points this season. That’s not to mention that Auston Matthews is one goal shy of 70. The MVP will be difficult to decide.
Other than getting McDavid to 100 assists, the Oilers don’t have a lot to play for. The team is almost locked into the second spot in the Pacific Division. With three games left to play, Edmonton would have to win out and Vancouver would have to lose the rest of its games for there to be a change at the top of the standings. If the Oilers stay in second, the team will face either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of the playoffs.
While McDavid leads the Oilers in points, it’s Zach Hyman that’s scoring the goals. He has 53 this season, a career high. Leon Draisaitl has also lit the lamp a bunch this season. He’s at 41 goals and counting.
This is the final meeting between the two teams for the 2023-24 season. You may remember that the Sharks beat the Oilers 3-2 on Nov. 9, adding to the Oilers’ early season woes. Edmonton exacted revenge with a 5-0 win on Dec. 28. Both wins were in regulation so this is the rubber match.
San Jose Sharks lines April 14, 2024
The Sharks called up Daniil Gushchin, Jack Thompson and Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda. They all look like they’ll factor into the lineup tonight. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, several players did not travel with the team including Jan Rutta, Mackenzie Blackwood, Filip Zadina, Jacob MacDonald, Kevin Labanc, Alexander Barabanov and Mike Hoffman.
Per #SJSharks, these injured players did not travel:
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 15, 2024
Rutta
Blackwood
Zadina
MacDonald
Labanc
Barabanov
Hoffman
Along with the players already out for the season.
With that in mind, here’s what the Daily Faceoff reports the lines will look like tonight. Cooley gets the start.
Forwards
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Collin Graf – Luke Kunin – Klim Kostin
Thomas Bordeleau – Jack Studnicka – Daniil Guschin
Givani Smith – Nico Sturm – Ryan Carpenter
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jack Thompson
Henry Thrun – Calen Addison
Goaltenders
Devin Cooley
Georgi Romanov
Oilers lines vs. Sharks
As previously stated, McDavid is in for the Oilers tonight. It sounds like he’s going to lineup along side Hyman and Adam Henrique. Here’s what the rest of the lines look like according to Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Note that he did not have Evander Kane on the list, calling him “absent.”
Oilers lines and pairings at morning skate vs. SJS:
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) April 15, 2024
Henrique-McDavid-Hyman
RNH-Draisaitl-Foegele
Holloway-McLeod-Perry
Janmark-Carrick-Brown
Ryan
Nurse-Ceci
Ekholm-Bouchard
Kulak-Desharnais
Stecher
Skinner
Pickard
Absent: Kane
Forwards
Adam Henrique – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Ryan McLeod – Warren Foegele
Dylan Holloway – Ryan McLeod – Corey Perry
Mattias Janmark – Sam Carrick – Connor Brown
Defensemen
Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner
Calvin Pickard
How to watch Sharks at Oilers April 15, 2024
The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT/9:30 p.m. ET at Rogers Place in Edmonton tonight.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBCSCA or listen through the Sharks Audio Network. You can also watch EPSN+ or Hulu, though there may be some blackout restrictions to contend with.
Oilers fans will see the game on Sportsnet or hear it on the Oilers Radio Network, which includes 630 CHED.
Be sure to come back here at game time to talk about the game with other Sharks fans.
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