PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers will play host to the San Jose Sharks for the first time this season on Thursday night at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:00 pm MST or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Flames

EDMONTON, AB – The return of the Mack(lin).

And this isn’t the same rookie – or team – that you saw last year.

For the first time this season, the Edmonton Oilers will play host to Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place on Thursday night as they continue the pursuit of their first three-game win streak of the season against another Pacific Division rival.

On Monday, the Oilers held off the Anaheim Ducks for a 7-4 win thanks to defenceman Mattias Ekholm’s first career hat-trick, which came after his teammate Evan Bouchard had three goals and six points in Saturday's 6-5 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals to make NHL history.

The Oilers became the first team to have a defenceman record a hat-trick in consecutive games after Ekholm scored twice in 1:57 during the second period, marking two of their four straight goals from blueliners in the frame, before he brought the hats down with an empty-netter with 11 seconds left in regulation.

Edmonton hadn't registered a hat-trick in consecutive games in almost 31 years (Mar. 20-22, 1995), with their previous one from a defenceman prior to Bouchard's six-point effort on Saturday coming from Marc-Andre Bergeron on Jan. 14, 2006.

It was also a historic night for the Oilers' defence after Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse and Spencer Stastney scored four times in 3:49 for the fastest four goals by defencemen in NHL history – the sixth time defencemen have combined for four goals in a period, and the first since the Blues on Nov. 29, 2000.

The Ducks held the lead twice early in the first and second periods, but despite fighting back from the Oilers' four-goal second period to make it a one-goal game on Mikael Granlund's hat-trick goal with under seven minutes left, quick empty-netters from McDavid and Ekholm ended their hopes of a comeback.

Though it was a historic day for Ekholm, the Oilers could be without their Swedish defenceman against the Sharks after Head Coach Kris Knoblauch deemed him day-to-day following the team's practice on Wednesday morning at Rogers Place.

Just as the Ducks have risen in the Pacific Division with the help of their young players, the Oilers will need to prepare for a similar challenge on Thursday when they face a much-improved Sharks team at Rogers Place that's been led by Celebrini in a red-hot sophomore season from the Vancouver native.

“We obviously haven't seen them yet, but they're where they are for a reason,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “I’ve watched them a little bit on TV, and they play hard. They have a lot of skill other than him as well, but it's their structure that's kind of allowing them to have the success that they're having this season. So it's certainly not going to be an easy night.

“We're going to have to prepare for it. We're going to have a good start and kind of play our game. And obviously, when Macklin's out there, you’ve got to be aware and know that he's on the ice. But they have some young guys who can make you pay. They play a fast game, and we'll match that tomorrow.”

Celebrini sits fourth in NHL scoring with 78 points (27G, 51A) behind Connor McDavid (92), Nathan MacKinnon (88) and Nikita Kucherov (80), having already passed his point totals from last year in what’s been an impressive sophomore season for the former 2024 first-overall pick to lead the Sharks into a tie for the second Wild Card spot with a 27-21-3 record.

A fellow West Coast product and former first-overall pick himself, Nugent-Hopkins has had the opportunity to skate with Celebrini during the offseason and also knows firsthand how hard it can be for a young player with high expectations to excel in this League.

"Extremely difficult," he said. "There's only really a handful of guys that have been able to step in and make the impact that he has so far. So obviously, it'll be a challenge for us tomorrow, but one that we'll be ready for for sure."

The Oilers understand how much more difficult it will be this time around against the Sharks, whom they've beaten in six consecutive games and are 14-1-0 over their last 15 meetings, including seven straight wins on home ice while scoring four or more goals in six of those contests.

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch acknowledged the threat of Celebrini but reiterated Nugent-Hopkins' comments that younger teams like the Sharks have taken massive strides this season by reinforcing their play style through structure, which the Oilers will focus on as they did against the Ducks to get the win.

"We haven't seen San Jose yet, so it's hard to judge. They might be similar in some ways," Knoblauch said. "Anaheim definitely has young skill, and they play a fast game, but everybody's structured now. If you're going to have success in this league, it's not just going to be free-wheeling and having these young guys score a few points every night. You have to play a structured game, or else you're going to pay for it.

"These young teams are starting to buy into that, and that's going to allow them to have more success."