OILERS (18-12-5) at SHARKS (20-12-1)
10:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CA, SNOL, NHL.TV
Oilers team scope
Forward Tyler Pitlick will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, sustained Monday in a 3-2 overtime loss at the St. Louis Blues. Pitlick, 25, had 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 31 games for the Edmonton Oilers this season. "That's a huge blow," coach Todd McLellan said Friday. "We lost a key player. When we're using the word 'key' at Christmas with Tyler, that means he's done something extremely well because he was not necessarily on the radar last year. But he resurrected himself, he got the opportunity and we feel his pain." Goaltender Cam Talbot is expected to start. He's 4-1-1 in his past six starts and has given up two goals or fewer in five of them. The Oilers have won three straight games and can head into the Christmas break in first place in the Pacific Division with a victory against the San Jose Sharks. "We envisioned us being a good team and competing every night and going into every building and knowing we can beat any team in the League," forward Zack Kassian said. "That's kind of the swagger we have now."
Sharks team scope
Forward Joel Ward, a healthy scratch in two of the past three games, will return to the lineup and replace Tommy Wingels on the fourth line. "You obviously just try to keep working, be a good teammate," Ward said. "Just try to find ways to be better and when you get in make the most of your opportunity." Wingels, who has been at center on the fourth line, will be a healthy scratch for the second time this season. Micheal Haley, known largely for his toughness, will play center on the fourth line. "He's a good player," coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's a trusted player. He makes good plays, makes good plays with the puck. He's defensively aware." The Sharks are 13-7-1 with Haley in the lineup. "I don't think that's a coincidence," DeBoer said. "You can't underestimate the effect of having a guy that you know has your back in the lineup on everyone else in your lineup." The Sharks are 5-1-0 in their past six games and 8-3-0 in their past 11 entering their final game before the Christmas break. "It would be nice to get a win, it would be nice to be in first," captain Joe Pavelski said. "All those things kind of go into a good matchup tonight." Defenseman Brent Burns needs one assist to reach 300 in his NHL career.
Oilers projected lineup
Milan Lucic -- Connor McDavid -- Jordan Eberle
Patrick Maroon -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl
Matt Hendricks -- Mark Letestu -- Zack Kassian
Benoit Pouliot -- Drake Caggiula -- Taylor Beck
Brandon Davidson -- Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Benning
Injured: Darnell Nurse (foot), Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Tyler Pitlick (knee)
Sharks projected lineup
Patrick Marleau -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Kevin Labanc -- Logan Couture -- Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier -- Chris Tierney -- Joonas Donskoi
Joel Ward -- Micheal Haley -- Melker Karlsson
Paul Martin -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Dylan DeMelo
Scratched: Matt Nieto, Tommy Wingels, David Schlemko
Injured: Tomas Hertl (knee)
Status update
Schlemko will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game, and DeMelo will take his place again. "When we're putting the lineup together, the one thing is we've got the luxury of a lot of depth here," DeBoer said. "That creates tough decisions and tough conversations." … Beck is expected to replace Puljujarvi in the lineup and play his third game of the season. He has no points and a minus-1 rating.
Who's hot
Letestu has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past five games. … Draisaitl has five points (one goal, four assists) in a three-game point streak and 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games. … Burns has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his past 15 games. … Pavelski has a goal and two assists in his past two games. … Donskoi has two goals and two assists in his past three games.
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