Oilers at Sharks preview

OILERS (12-5-2) at SHARKS (7-10-1)
10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCA, SNW, NHL.TV

Draisaitl leads the NHL in scoring with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 19 games. He had four assists in a 6-2 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday and has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in a nine-game point streak.
Edmonton has won two straight and is 4-1-1 in its past six games. Mike Smith will start in goal for the Oilers.
San Jose has won its past three games after a five-game losing streak. The Sharks won 2-1 in a shootout against the Nashville Predators on Saturday and are playing the last of a six-game homestand.
Goalie Martin Jones will start for San Jose.

Players to watch

Oilers center Connor McDavid had a hat trick in the win against Anaheim, which was his first of the season and fifth in the NHL. He has seven points (five goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak.
Sharks forward Evander Kane has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five games. He leads San Jose with 10 goals this season.

They said it

"I think there's parts in our game that we're happy about and there are parts that we'd like to improve. Throughout the season teams are adapting and so are we, and we have to make sure we keep dialing game after game and continue to move forward." -- Oilers defenseman Matt Benning
"Draisaitl and McDavid are playing at an unbelievable level. When they're both on the ice 20-plus minutes a night it's hard to get match-ups, so your whole group has be aware when they're on the ice and who they're on the ice with" -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
James Neal -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Joakim Nygard -- Sam Gagner -- Patrick Russell
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom -- Kris Russell
Brandon Manning -- Matt Benning
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Markus Granlund, Gaetan Haas, Joel Persson
Injured: Adam Larsson (leg)

Sharks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Logan Couture -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Barclay Goodrow
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Patrick Marleau
Noah Gregor -- Dylan Gambrell -- Melker Karlsson
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Erik Karlsson
Brenden Dillon -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Lukas Radil
Injured: Mario Ferraro (upper body)

Status report

Edmonton activated Nygard off injured reserve, and he will play his first game since sustaining a rib injury at the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 14 … Gagner will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games … Sharks defenseman Dalton Prout has been assigned to San Jose of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment. Prout had been out of the lineup with an upper-body injury sustained in the opening game of the season Oct. 2 at the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stat pack

Nugent-Hopkins has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past two games … Meier has five points (two goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak … Hertl has scored in his past three games and has six points (three goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak.