The Edmonton Oilers wrap up the California component of their road trip with a stop in San Jose on Saturday to take on the Sharks in a weekend matinee.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 1:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs. SJS
RECENT VIDEOS
RAW | Coach Jay Woodcroft
RAW | Jason Demers
RAW | Mattias Ekholm
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Sharks Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
FUTURE WATCH: Condors clinch playoff berth
GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Ducks 1
GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Kings 1
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Saturday's game on Sportsnet West at 2:00 p.m. MT.

INSIDE THE OILERS

The Bakersfield Condors officially clinched a postseason berth in the AHL playoffs and more.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

SAN JOSE, CA - The Oilers will play the first of two contests in the final three games of their regular season against the San Jose Sharks, starting at the SAP Center on Saturday afternoon.
It's a comfortable and uncomfortable time of the year for the Oilers, who have locked up a playoff spot, but can still jockey for position to see who and where their first postseason game materializes against.
The Oilers are making the race to Game 83 a photo finish. The Blue & Orange still trail the Vegas Golden Knights by three points with three games remaining, but a six-game win streak and a 12-game point streak have made things interesting for the current Conference leaders.
"This is what we play for," Mattias Ekholm said. "It's a long year and to come down the stretch here and be in a position where you're not looking if you're going to get in or not, and you're looking to where you're going to position yourself, and if it's going to be home ice or not. It's an awesome time and hopefully we got three big games here left and then the fun begins."

FROM THE DEPTHS

The Oilers have been well regarded for their power-play and their superstar scorers, but one area that separates this Edmonton team from ones in the past is their depth up-and-down the lineup.
The current lineup features 12 different goal scorers with at least double digit totals this season, and game's like Wednesday's contest against the Ducks show just how meaningful their contributions have been. Specifically, it was the line of Klim Kostin, Nick Bjugstad, and Mattias Janmark who was the best line on the ice for the Oilers, combining for the game's first two goals of the 3-1 win.
"I think we're blessed with a lot of people in our lineup that can contribute and we ask different things of different people, but sometimes when someone steps up in an area that might not be their area of specialty, it gives your team a little bit of a boost," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "I thought the line of Kostin, Bugstad and Janmark in the Anaheim game gave us a lot of really hardworking minutes. You look at the goals that they were able to score, those were hardworking goals, those are playoff type goals, and I was happy for all three of those guys because they're good soldiers. And I tell you what, anytime you can get contributions like that from that line, I think it bodes well for us going forward."

All three members of the line did not start the 2022-23 season on the Oilers roster, with Kostin and Janmark down in Bakersfield and Bjugstad in Arizona. Over the course of the year, they have all become important contributors on the Oilers -- Kostin currently leads the team in hits with 147 on the season, Janmark is tied for second on the team in shorthanded goals, and Bjugstad has added with four goals in 16 games and has been 52.1 per cent at the faceoff circle.
When players like the Oilers third-line trio are playing their roles, it makes everything just a little bit easier for the team's leaders. The added depth also helps Edmonton as a group defensively, with no easy lines for the opposition to try to match with.
"I mean, there are going to be nights where obviously our top guys will have an off night or what have you, and we saw the line with Klim, Bjugy, and Janny was really solid for us in that Anaheim game," Ekholm said. "I think right now, the way we're playing defensively is a contribution by everybody. Everybody's playing their best at keeping the opposition to a low score and it's been finding success for the team. So, I think that's been the best part about our team game so far."

700 FOR DEMERS

Stuck at 699 career games, the next one has been a long time coming for Jason Demers.
It's been nearly two years since veteran defender suited up for an NHL game and it appears Demers will get a chance to play his 700th NHL game against the team he cut his teeth as a rookie defenceman with back in 2009-10.
"I mean, there's a ton of emotion. They kind of told me three, four days ago, so I was able to get out all the tears and a lot of emotion. Still, it's kind of been a long two years, so it's going to be interesting, especially back in my old stadium and where I started," Demers said.
His last game in the NHL was back on May 7, 2021 as a member of the Arizona Coyotes, coincidentally also in San Jose. The pandemic and rehabbing from injuries led to a lack of NHL suitors and a five-game stint in the KHL, which Demers thought could be the end of his pro career. Now, after a successful season down in Bakersfield where he helped lead the Condors to the playoffs, the 34-year-old gets an opportunity to hit the long-awaited milestone.
"That's kind of where I was chasing my 700th. And that was my last game was in that building too. So, it's kind of like full circle and it's just been fun to kind of be here and you just kind of start remembering two years ago and how everything came to finish," Demers said. "But it's the great thing about this league, and it's the crazy thing that makes you get upset sometimes that you have to go through this for two years."

Cody Ceci will be out of the lineup on Saturday afternoon, returning to Edmonton to witness the birth of his first child. His absence will make way for Demers' opportunity -- one that Coach Woodcroft believes he's earned.
"I think personally for him, that's certainly going to be a special moment, but I think bigger picture wise, he's earned the recall," Woodcroft said. "He's been a real good shepherd for some of our younger players down in Bakersfield. That team struggled out of the gate and he's helped get them back up to where they're middle of the pack and they just clinched the playoff spot. He's done a lot of good things down there and he's earned this recall."
"Even bigger picture wise, you look at our depth chart on the back end and I think it's important for us to get a look at Jason with the Oilers here and understand what he can bring to the table, should we get into a position where we have to use some depth defensemen," he added. "Happy for him personally, but bigger picture wise we're about the two points tomorrow."
Demers will have his family presence to watch him play against the team that he began his NHL career with. The defenceman has not committed one way or the other to playing next season, so if this is his swan song, it's a fitting end to a long NHL career.
"The competitor in me is like, it's not as many as I wanted. I was 28, 29, and I thought I was going to get to 1000, Demers said. "Then you get a couple of injuries and you're like, okay, let's get to 900. Then it's like, okay, let's get to 800. Now I'm like, okay, just being a seventh rounder when I was 20 years old and kind of grinding into the league, this is a big moment for me."
"It's been a great journey. It's great to come to a team like this that's playing so well," he added. "I was telling Woody that the first shift will be emotional and then after that I'd like to come in and win a game and get two points for the team, not for me. For me it would be great too, but the two points for the team is important. They're chasing first and it's one shift to kind of enjoy it and then it'll be back to business."
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS vs. SHARKS
STREAM: 2:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West
Oilers Team Scope
The Oilers will continue their final regular season road trip of the year with a stop in San Jose against a team they have a perfect 2-0 record against so far in the Sharks.
As of late, the Oilers game has been defined by their stingy defence and goaltending, with the team allowing just two goals over their previous four games. In the Oilers latest victory, the Blue & Orange constricted the Ducks in a 3-1 victory at the Honda Center.
Jack Campbell received the start on the night and turned away all but one of the 28 shots he faced for his fourth consecutive victory. Klim Kostin was playing in his 100th NHL game and made it count. The bruising Russian forward scored his 11th goal of the season on a one timer in front of Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal and set up the eventual game winner by Nick Bjugstad in the two-point effort.
The biggest milestone of the evening belonged to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, whose teammates made sure he got his 100th point of the season on an empty-net goal by Zach Hyman. The assist gave the longest-serving Oiler his first triple-digit campaign since his days with the Red Deer Rebels in the WHL, and made the Oilers the first team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have three scorers break the century mark in the same season.
"I think it's pretty special," Nugent-Hopkins said about the milestone. "Connor and Leon do it every single year. Just incredible players and incredible teammates, but for them to do what they do every year consistently is something that you don't see too often. For myself personally, I just try to help out when I can, and I'm happy to be a part of this group."

Sharks Team Scope
San Jose enters Saturday's game with just a few questions remaining about their season; how good will their NHL Draft lottery odds be and can Erik Karlsson become the first defenceman since Brian Leetch in 1991-92 to eclipse 100 points in a season.
The former Norris trophy winner needs just two points in his final four games to reach the mark, leading all National Hockey League defenders with 98 points (23G, 75A) in 78 games this year. Karlsson factored in on both goals in the Sharks 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, scoring the game's first goal and assisting Steven Lorentz's ninth of the year.
Kappo Kahkonen allowed four goals on 17 shots, while James Reimer only turned away 10 of the 12 Avalanche opportunities in the loss.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions were too much to handle for the Sharks, lead by superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen who each had four points in the night. Rookie forward Ben Meyers was the only other Avalanche player to find the scoresheet, notching his second and third goals of the season in the third period.
San Jose finds themselves ranked 29th in the NHL with a 22-40-16 record entering Saturday afternoon's contest, just four points ahead of Chicago, Anaheim, and Columbus for the lowest point total in the NHL this season.

By The Numbers
the Oilers have outscored their opponents 54-29 over their current 12-game point streak, going 11-0-1 over that stretch... The 12-game streak is the longest since the 2003-04, where they set a franchise record of 16-consecutive games with a point going 10-0-6... The Oilers were 11-points back of the Pacific Division lead back on Jan. 11 and are now only three-points back despite Vegas and Los Angeles having the seond and third best records in the Conference since that date... Since the start of the 2021-22 season the Oilers are 6-0-0 against the Sharks, outscoring them 27-12...
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became the eighth player to eclipse 100 points last game, and just the sixth to do it for the first ime in his 12th season or later... Gordie Howe has the all-time record, taking until his 23rd season to finally score 100 points... The Oilers are the first team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins to have thre 100-point scorers on their roster in the same season... Connor McDavid is looking to avoid going three-straight games without a multi-point effort for the first time since Dec. 21-27... Jack Campbell is 12-1-3 in his last 17 starts and has not lost to a start to a California-based team this season... Leon Draisaitl has scored eight less power-play goals (31) than the entire San Jose Sharks roster this season (39)...
The Sharks are 2-14-3 in games played on Saturday this season, the worst record in the NHL... With six points in his last four games, Erik Karlsson would have the second-highest scoring season by a defenceman since 1988-89... Logan Couture enters Saturday's contest a single-point away from 700 for his career...
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Mike Smith (undisclosed) is on IR;
Ryan Murray
(undisclosed) is on IR;
Ryan McLeod 
(upper body) is on IR; Cody Ceci (personal) is day-to-day
SHARKS - Luke Kunin (ACL) is on IR; Markus Nutivaara (undisclosed) is on IR; Alexander Barabanov (lower body) is day-to-day; Nikita Okhotiuk undisclosed) is day-to-day; Oskar Lindblom (undisclosed) is day-to-day
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com