The San Jose Sharks are not competitive on a nightly basis.

That’s to be expected, as they are in the early stages of a rebuild. They have some promising pieces in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, but it will be a few more seasons before they are a playoff contender again. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, and while this will be their sixth consecutive season without the playoffs, they didn’t commit to a rebuild until the start of the 2022-23 season. So this is really only year three of their rebuild.

For reference, they are essentially where the Oilers were in 2011-12. Fans who endured the Decade of Darkness here can attest there is more pain to come for Sharks fans.

San Jose has won 20 of its 74 games this season. They lost 44 in regulation and 10 in overtime/shootout.

They struggle to score (30th in GF with 2.58/game) and they allow the most goals (3.74). It is a bad combination, but an expected one. Despite their struggles, they’ve still found ways to beat playoff-bound teams. They’ve beaten Toronto, New Jersey and LA twice, and Washington, Tampa Bay and St. Louis once. The Oilers needed a Mattias Ekholm goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation and a Leon Draisaitl goal in OT to beat them the last time the two teams played.

They can surprise if you let them, and after beating Vegas on Tuesday and a battle for home ice in round one vs. LA coming up this Saturday, there is the possibility tonight could be a trap game. And that’s why I believe Kris Knoblauch opted to stick with Calvin Pickard rather than give Olivier Rodrigue his first NHL start.

The Oilers need a win. One could argue it shouldn’t matter who is in goal, the Oilers should be able to limit San Jose’s scoring chances and win regardless, but Knoblauch’s decision tells me he wants his team gearing up for the playoffs. The Oilers have had some stretches of inconsistency this season. They struggled in their first 15 games, then had the best record in the NHL over the next 30 games, before hitting the skids again after the 4-Nation tournament.

Lately, the Oilers have found their stride. Their intensity has increased. They’ve become more physical. They only have 10 games with 22 hits at 5×5 all season and eight of them have come in their last 14 games. Maybe it is just a coincidence, but prior to those 14 games, I wrote how the Oilers’ hits were down 40% from each of the previous two seasons. The Oilers don’t need to lead the league in hits — they were 15th and 16th the previous three seasons — but when you’re more engaged in the game, the hits naturally increase, as we’ve seen.

Every player has become more engaged. Compare their hits/60 totals in the first 60 games to the past 14.

Only three players have been less physical than they were in through 60 games, while many have doubled their totals. The Oilers don’t need to lead the league in hits, far from it, but I don’t think you can just flip a switch when playoffs begin — rather, it is a steady increase in ramping up some areas of your game. The Oilers have increased their intensity. They played a really solid defensive game in Vegas two nights ago. While they didn’t generate much offence in the first period, they didn’t give up much and only trailed 1-0, before dominating the second period and ultimately winning the game. They played great without Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm, Trent Frederic, Evander Kane and Stuart Skinner.

By starting Pickard I believe the coach is telling his players not to look ahead to Saturday. Get a win and keep pace with the Kings for home-ice advantage and then focus on Saturday’s tilt.

— San Jose has fared much better against the East than the West this year. They are 7-8-1 v. the Atlantic, 5-9-2 v. the Metro, 4-13-4 v. the Central and 4-12-3 against Pacific Division rivals. They have seven games remaining vs. the Pacific, including three v. Edmonton and one against the Central.

— The Oilers are 28-10-1 v. teams currently not in a playoff spot. They are 17-6 vs. Western teams outside the playoffs and will look to make it 18 wins tonight.

— Leon Draisaitl’s next goal will be the 400th of his career and he or Jamie Benn (also at 399) will be the 110th and 111th players in NHL history to reach that milestone. They are both tied for 10th among active players.

— Is Victor Arvidsson finding his game? He has four goals in his last eight games. Knoblauch is playing him more minutes in his last six games than he has since early November. Arvidsson’s season numbers won’t look good, but him becoming a contributor now would be a welcome boost for the Oilers. He is better when he plays with an edge and is engaged in battles.

— Darnell Nurse leads the Oilers with six points in the last six games. He’s logged the most ice time as well at 23:33/game. He continues to play well and is making a lot of good plays offensively and defensively. He’s been excellent with Mattias Ekholm out of the lineup.

— Georgi Romanov will make his third career start for the Sharks. He is 0-2 this season and allowed eight goals to the Kings this past Sunday. The Sharks were dreadful in that game, so it wasn’t solely on him.

— San Jose’s first PP unit runs five forwards in Celebrini, Smith, Tyler Toffoli, William Eklund and Alex Wennberg. The Oilers’ PK has been much more aggressive, especially on their stocks (standing up on zone entries), and when they create a turnover in the neutral zone or defensive zone, look for them to attack rather than just dump it. With no natural defenseman on the ice, they could create some good chances shorthanded.

No lineup changes for the Oilers. Trent Frederic might play in Anaheim on Monday.

The Sharks have used 14 different defenders this season. Thompson and Carlsson have a combined 97 NHL games played. The Oilers’ second and third lines will likely see them a lot tonight and should be able to generate some good looks.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers win 5-2.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Draisaitl scores two goals — his first career multi-goal game in San Jose.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Walman scores a goal in consecutive road games for the first time in his career.