PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers face the San Jose Sharks in their final home game of the regular season on Monday night at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:30 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck-drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Sharks

EDMONTON, AB – The Oilers start a stretch of three games in four days to close out their regular-season schedule when they host the Sharks at Rogers Place on Monday night, hoping to utilize their final few games to take stock of their roster before the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this coming weekend.

A 3-1 defeat to Vancouver on Saturday secured the Canucks the season sweep of the Oilers and severely dented Edmonton’s hopes of winning the Pacific Division, dropping them five points back of their Canadian rivals with three games left in their regular season.

To win the Pacific, the Oilers will have to win all three of their remaining games against San Jose, Arizona and Colorado while hoping for outside with two regulation losses for Vancouver in their final two games of the campaign versus Calgary and Winnipeg.

The Oilers haven't been helped down the stretch by a busy segment of six games in nine days to end the campaign, along with losing their captain Connor McDavid for the last three games due to injury, but it’s not difficult for them to see how far they've come and how they’ve responded to adversity this season, particularly after their 2-8-1 start to the year.

Since Nov. 6, the Blue & Orange have completely turned their season around, going 46-17-4 to ultimately lock down second place in the division, secure home-ice advantage in the first round and accomplish their first goal from the start of the season – make the playoffs.

The Oilers defeated the Sharks 5-0 during that franchise-record 16-game win streak after experiencing their lowest moment this season against San Jose, losing 3-2 back on Nov. 9 to the League's bottom-dwellers before experiencing their turnaround under Coach Knoblauch.

“Everybody plays 82, but obviously, the schedule maker made it a little harder on us towards the end of the year,” Zach Hyman said. “Having said that considering where we were at the start of the year, to be locked into a playoff spot and have home ice secured, I think we would have taken that considering where we were.

“There’s still time left. We'll see what happens, but I think we're in a great spot.”

The players inside the Oilers dressing room don't need to win the division to know what they're capable of in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that are set to begin this coming weekend, where they know they'll be beginning the first round on home ice against an opponent that's still yet to be determined, but will likely be one of Los Angeles or Vegas.

Playoffs are where it all matters, and the Oilers can utilize these final three games to fine-tune their roster for the postseason and showcase what they believed to be the case among the NHL's best teams. Desharnais delivered that thought without hesitation during his post-game interview on Saturday, while saying that last year's playoff run has prepared him to have an even bigger impact this coming run.

“I think we're the best team in the whole league," Desharnais said. "I think we proved it at times this season and it's kind of like the 16-game winning streak. We can win the whole League, but you could lose in the first round and it doesn't mean anything. So I think these games, they just get us ready and I think it's good to go through adversity."

Desharnais is just one of many in the locker room hoping to stack years of experience into a run where it all comes together. Hyman said having less to play for in the final few games for the Oilers doesn't detract from the players' mindset of wanting to put forward their best game and try to ride a wave of momentum into the playoffs.

The Oilers have crashed out in the third and second rounds over the last two seasons and have made the postseason for five straight years. They're hoping some of that early-season adversity provided some solid lessons that can show their value at the end of a deeper post-season run that goes into June this time around.

"I don't know if it changes how the coaching staff sees it, but as a player, whenever you're out there you want to play your best because you can't just lollygag your way into the playoffs. You have to be on your game," Hyman said. "There were times in my career when I was locked into a position for 20 games, and that's a lot harder than three games. So we'll be good."

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch responded by saying the final three games are a good chance to rotate some players, with the potential for some big-name prospects in Dylan Holloway and even Philip Broberg, who's currently assigned to the AHL's Bakersfield, stepping in to fill those vacated minutes.

"We'll look at that," Knoblauch said. "I think it's definitely an opportunity to give guys a rest if it's needed and give some guys a little more responsibilities in certain situations. Dylan gets an opportunity to keep on playing and show us what he got and we'll assess those. Broberg has the possibility of being a call-up, and obviously, he's somebody that we'll consider."

Connor McDavid remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury for the Oilers and will be assessed again on Monday morning to see if he'll be able to go against the Sharks after missing the last three games.

The Oilers are 1-1-1 in those games, averaging 2.67 goals per game and going 1-for-6 on the power play, and are 1-3-1 this season in the five games their captain's missed. McDavid needs one more assist this season to reach 100, which would make him the fourth different player in NHL history to reach the mark.

"We always talk to him and talked to him before [Saturday], but we'll probably have a better idea tomorrow. He'll come in and see our training staff, give us an indication on playing, and what the doctors suggest is the best decision going forward."