Morning Skate: Sharks try to clinch playoff spot again vs Oilers

Programming note: Sharks-Oilers coverage starts tonight at 7:00pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.

Where they stand

Sharks: 41-26-6, 88 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Oilers: 29-40-7, 65 points, 7th Pacific Division

Playoff picture

The Sharks will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Oilers in any fashion OR if they get one point against the Oilers AND the Coyotes lose to the Stars in any fashion OR if the Coyotes lose to the Stars in regulation.

The Sharks trail the Kings by five points and the Ducks by one point in the Pacific Division. The Ducks have one game in hand.

Anaheim is in Toronto tonight, while the Kings visit the Jets.

The latest

Sharks: The Sharks were unable to get anything past Brian Elliott in a 1-0 loss to the Blues on Tuesday. They are 2-1 on their season-long six-game homestand, where they are 16-16-3 overall. San Jose will be trying to avoid losing two straight games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 2-7.

Oilers: Currently occupying its all-too-familiar position of worst team in the Western Conference, the Oilers started a three-game road trip with a 4-2 loss in Arizona on Tuesday. They have lost four of six overall (2-4-0).

Keep an eye on…

Sharks: Dylan DeMelo. The rookie defenseman has filled in nicely for the injured Marc-Edouard Vlasic, although he was caught up the ice and saw Tuesday’s only goal deflect off of his stick while he was back-checking. He played a career-high 18 minutes and 45 seconds against the Blues paired with Justin Braun, registering three shots on goal and earning time on the second power play unit.

Oilers: Darnell Nurse. The young Oilers defenseman got into some hot water with the league after jumping Roman Polak in the last meeting, earning a three-game suspension for pummeling the defenseless defenseman. The 21-year-old former first round pick has two goals, eight points, 53 penalty minutes and a minus-15 rating in 63 games.

[REWIND: Sharks upset with Oilers' Nurse for jumping Polak]

Probable lines

Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Patrick Marleau – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward
Micheal Haley – Nick Spaling – Tommy Wingels

Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Dylan DeMelo – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak

James Reimer (confirmed starter)
Martin Jones

Oilers
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl - Zack Kassian
Lauri Korpikoski – Mark Letestu – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Adam Cracknell – Iiro Pakarinen

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Griffin Reinhart – Jordan Oesterle
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening

Cam Talbot (confirmed starter)
Laurent Brossoit

Vitals

Sharks
Goals per game: 2.89 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.51 (11th)
Power play: 22.2 percent (4th)
Penalty kill: 80.0 percent (23rd)

Oilers
Goals per game: 2.36 (26th)
Goals-against per game: 2.91 (25th)
Power play: 17.7 percent (18th)
Penalty kill: 80.6 percent (22nd)

Injuries/Scratches

Sharks: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body), Matt Nieto (hand) and Matt Tennyson (concussion) are out.

Oilers: Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (undisclosed) and Adam Pardy (hand) are day-to-day. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (concussion) Oscar Klefbom (broken finger), Andrew Ference (hip) and Eric Gryba (knee) are out.

Season series

The Sharks are 2-0-1 against the Oilers this season headed into tonight’s final matchup. Joe Pavelski leads all scorers with three points (2g, 1a).

San Jose is 13-3-1 in its last 17 games versus Edmonton.

Odds and ends

*The Sharks’ seven-game winning streak against teams currently in playoff position came to an end on Tuesday.

*In their past three games without Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose has allowed just two goals while outshooting its opponents 125-75.

*Since. Jan. 9, the Sharks are 23-8-4, tied for first in the league in wins, points (50) and goals (110).