Oilers at Sharks preview

OILERS (27-31-4) AT SHARKS (33-21-9)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNOL, NHL.TV

The Sharks, who have lost three straight games, are in second place in the Pacific Division, 12 points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and one ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.
Forward Pontus Aberg will make his debut for the Oilers, who acquired him from the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
Edmonton, which has won three straight games, trails the Los Angeles Kings by 15 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

Players to watch

Oilers center Connor McDavid has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past five games and 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in his past 19.
Sharks center Joe Pavelski has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"It's good to be here, a good opportunity for me for a fresh start. I haven't played for a couple of games. It's going to be good to get back in with a new team. I'm going to work hard to earn my minutes here." -- Oilers forward Pontus Aberg
"He's going to play power play, he's going to kill penalties. We're going to play him. He's going to play as much as he can handle and as much as he does to help us win." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on forward Evander Kane

Oilers projected lineup

Milan Lucic -- Connor McDavid -- Anton Slepyshev
Michael Cammalleri -- Leon Draisaitl --
Ty Rattie
Pontus Aberg -- Ryan Strome -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Drake Caggiula -- Jujhar Khaira -- Iiro Pakarinen
Darnell Nurse -- Adam Larsson
Oscar Klefbom -- Kris Russell
Andrej Sekera -- Matt Benning
Cam Talbot
Al Montoya
Scratched: Yohann Auvitu, Ethan Bear
Injured:Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (ribs), Zack Kassian (leg)

Sharks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Joe Pavelski -- Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Barclay Goodrow --
Eric Fehr
-- Melker Karlsson
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Tim Heed, Marcus Sorensen, Paul Martin, Jannik Hansen
Injured:Joe Thornton (knee), Joel Ward (shoulder)

Status report

Braun will return to the lineup after missing one game with an illness. ... Bear, a defenseman, was recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League. ... Kassian will not play, but Russell (hand) has a chance to return after missing one game, coach Todd McLellan said.

Stat pack

Boedker has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past seven games. ... Draisaitl has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in his past 19 games.