Sharks at Oilers preview

SHARKS (20-12-7) at OILERS (18-16-3)
4 p.m. ET; SNW, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

The Oilers last lost five in a row from March 25 to April 2, 2018.
Goalie Cam Talbot will start for the Oilers, and forward Jujhar Khaira will return after serving a two-game suspension for cross-checking St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn in a 4-1 loss Dec. 18.
The Sharks are 1-1-2 in their past four games following a five-game winning streak. They are playing the first of a three-game road trip.
Goalie Martin Jones is expected to start, and defenseman Erik Karlsson will return from a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner in a 3-2 overtime loss Dec. 22.

Players to watch

Karlsson had 10 assists in an eight-game point streak before being suspended.
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past nine games. He had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

They said it

"I think the guys know at the end of January there's a big break, so when you're dividing up the season, there is no doubt we've got three weeks of a lot of games and a lot of tough opponents, and I think they know that. "- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"Wherever you are, you have to contribute and help the team win. Whether it's scoring or being good defensively, you have to do something to stick out and do something to make sure the coach wants to keep you in the lineup." -- Oilers forward Ty Rattie

Sharks projected lineup

Lukas Radil -- Logan Couture -- Timo Meier
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Joonas Donskoi -- Barclay Goodrow -- Melker Karlsson
Erik Karlsson -- Brenden Dillon
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Tim Heed, Joakim Ryan, Rourke Chartier
Injured: None

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Ty Rattie
Drake Caggiula -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Milan Lucic -- Jujhar Khaira -- Kailer Yamamoto
Tobias Rieder -- Kyle Brodziak -- Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse -- Adam Larsson
Caleb Jones -- Matt Benning
Kevin Gravel -- Chris Wideman
Cam Talbot
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Jason Garrison, Ryan Spooner
Injured: Andrej Sekera (Achilles), Oscar Klefbom (hand), Kris Russell (undisclosed), Alex Chiasson (lower body)

Status report

The Sharks recalled Chartier from San Jose of the American Hockey League on Friday. … The Oilers recalled Yamamoto from and placed forward Valentin Zykov on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to Bakersfield of the AHL. ... Caggiula will return to the lineup after missing one game with an illness.

Stat pack

Hertl has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past nine games. … McDavid has five assists in his past two games. He has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in his past 12 games.