In the 2020s, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid have been mainstays atop the NHL scoring race.

McDavid has the most points this decade with 738 since January 1st, 2020, while Draisaitl is second with 656 followed by Nathan MacKinnon (643), Nikita Kucherov (571, as he missed the 56-game, 2021 season) and David Pastrnak (569).  There have been 36 instances of a player scoring 100 points in the past six seasons, and those four account for 16 of them, with Draisaitl and McDavid each having five while Kucherov and MacKinnon did it three times.

Those five have dominated the scoring race this decade, but they have some new competition as budding superstar, Macklin Celebrini, is pushing his way into the conversation.

Celebrini is having an outstanding season. If the season ended today, he’d likely win the Hart Trophy as most valuable player. He sits fourth in league scoring with 78 points in 51 games, trailing Kucherov (80), MacKinnon (88) and McDavid (92) and just ahead of Draisaitl (74). The Sharks’ second and third leading scorers, Will Smith (36) and Tyler Toffoli (35), have fewer combined points (71) than Celebrini. He’s the main reason the Sharks woke up this morning in the second wildcard spot with 57 points. They are tied with Los Angeles and Seattle, but are technically in eighth spot due to having more regulation wins than L.A. and have played one fewer game than Seattle.

The Sharks are in the race mainly due to Celebrini’s heroics. He’s led them to victory in multiple games where he was the driving force. Celebrini has produced 22 multi-point games, and the Sharks are 19-2-1 when he scores two points.  They are 8-19-2 when he scores one point or fewer. That’s a lot of responsibility for a 19-year-old, but Celebrini has not only handled that pressure, but he’s excelled in it. He’s producing at an elite-level pace, and he’s very good defensively. His five-on-five GF-GA is 49-35, and when he’s not on the ice the Sharks have been outscored 81-50.

Slow down Celebrini, and the Oilers will win. It is that simple right now. The Oilers have the luxury of having two veteran superstars, and even if Celebrini can break even with one of McDavid or Draisaitl, then his teammates have to shut down the other — a tall task. I like what the Sharks are building, but they are quite a few pieces away before I see them becoming a playoff team. It makes sense that San Jose is talking with the Rangers about acquiring Artemi Panarin. Celebrini could use a high-powered running mate. Smith is good, but he’s not there just yet.

This has been a great 51-game stretch, but they need more offensive punch and they need to build a stronger blueline. I believe the Anaheim Ducks have more high-end pieces than the Sharks, and that’s why they might make the playoffs first, but both organizations have spoke to the Rangers about Panarin. If one of them gets him, that will have a big impact in which one of those teams can become the team to challenge Vegas and Edmonton in the Pacific Division.

The Sharks are fun to watch. They’ve started to produce more goals lately, mainly due to Celebrini, but they also give up a lot of goals. The Oilers should be able to create significant scoring chances tonight, but they have to respect the Sharks who are the 10th highest scoring team in the NHL since December 1st scoring 3.44 goals/game. Their problem is they’ve allowed 3.68 goals/game, which is third most. They are playing high-event hockey, and it is working as they are 15-10 since December 1st.

They are fun to watch, especially Celebrini, and they are a more dangerous team than the one the Oilers have dominated the past few seasons. Edmonton has won six in a row and 14 of their last 15 games against San Jose. They’ve outscored the 67-26. Last year they won by scores of 3-0, 4-2, 3-2 and 3-2. It was closer, but still Edmonton controlled the games, and tonight’s game is more important than any head-to-head matchup between these two teams in years. The Sharks are in a playoff spot, and a victory would put them three points back of the Oilers.

Edmonton is a better team, but Celebrini’s emergence as a superstar makes San Jose a team they must respect. McDavid and Draisaitl respect Celebrini’s game, especially his defensive acumen, but tonight is a chance for them to remind him and  the NHL that they are still the top dogs.

— For the 10th time this season, the Oilers will try to win three games in a row. They are 0-7-2 in their first nine tries.

— Here’s an updated look at all 32 NHL teams and how many 3+ game winning streaks they’ve had. The chart below outlines the streaks beginning with the most recent, and the * means it is an active streak.

Edmonton and St. Louis have yet to win three in a row, while every other team has at least two win streaks of 3+ games. Edmonton and San Jose enter tonight each on a two-game winning streak.

— This is the most games played in a season without at least one three-game winning streak in Oilers franchise history. Just to give you some reference, here’s a look at each season and how many games played before they won three consecutive games.

If they win tonight, they will tie the 1992 and 2000 teams for taking the most games played to manufacture a three-game winning streak. Those teams didn’t have the luxury of overtime or a shootout to earn a victory. In the OT/SO era, the most games it took was 35 in 2018, and 12 times they needed only single-digit games played to do it. It is wild that they are this deep in the season and still looking for a three-game win streak.

— San Jose has been impressive in one-goal games, going 15-4-3, while the Oilers have only won nine of 24 games, going 9-7-8.

— Both teams have been pretty strong when leading after 40 minutes. San Jose is 19-0-1 while Edmonton is 21-0-4.

— San Jose has only outshot an opponent 15 times in 51 games, while Edmonton has outshot their opponent in 35 of 52 games.

— Leon Draisaitl had some very complementary words for rookie Josh Samanski.