After having the hopes of winning the Pacific Division pretty much taken away from them, the Edmonton Oilers need to work on finding their game and getting back to their winning ways. I understand that the Oilers were missing McDavid the last few games, but the Oilers now need to start winning.
The San Jose Sharks are the perfect team for the Oilers to turn things around against. The Sharks have clinched the very last spot in the NHL and now have the best odds in the Draft Lottery. The Oilers will be heavy favourites heading into this game, but they were favourites against the Arizona Coyotes last week last week and lost.
The San Jose Sharks only have two more games left this season, tonight against the Oilers and then Thursday against the Flames, so there is a pretty good chance that they finish with under 20 wins for the season. One of those wins did come against the Oilers in early November.
The other game between these two was a blowout where the Oilers won the game 5-0. I would expect a similar outcome to that tonight, although, at this time of year, complacency has been an issue for lots of teams already locked in a playoff spot. The thing with the Oilers is they haven't won a game in a while, so they hopefully want to prove themselves.
One major factor for the Oilers will be the health of Connor McDavid. McDavid has not played a game in over a week as he has a nagging injury that the Oilers and McDavid are being overcautious about this, as they should be. In the overall scheme of things the rest of these games don't mean anything for the Oilers, at this point all that matters is the playoffs.
This game doesn't win or lose the cup for the Edmonton Oilers, but a win would be nice heading down the stretch of the regular season. The Oilers need to get all their wrinkles ironed out before the first round of the playoffs and tonight is a good night to get things headed the right way.