As the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night with two valuable points on the line, un-sexy hockey terms like “low event” are being spoken in the bowels of Rogers Place.

The Nashville Predators had just five High Danger Scoring Chances (HDSCF) at five-on-five, and only two until the latter stages of the game, finishing with 1.21 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. It was a major improvement from the Blues game before, where the Oilers were less effective at both ends of the ice, and the result was much more of a coin flip at the end of a back-to-back.

That didn’t make the blown two-goal lead any less frustrating, but signs are pointing to the Oilers’ engine turning over, firing up at the right time in mid-March.

“We want to play a solid low event game,” said Connor McDavid on Monday.

After all the hand-wringing and visible frustration of the season so far, the preaching about defensive structure and commitment, in four of the Oilers’ last five games, words have become actions.

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Top 5 defensive teams in the NHL since the Olympic break by xGA per 60: 1. DAL: 1.88 2. CBJ: 2.05 3. COL: 2.21 4. EDM: 2.21 5. VGK: 2.22 #TexasHockey #CBJ #GoAvsGo #LetsGoOilers #VegasBorn

8:53 PM · Mar 16, 2026

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But why the turnaround?

“I think a lot of that is due to checking habits and tracking,” said Jason Dickinson, who played 18:54 on Sunday, the most ice-time he’s seen as an Oiler so far, and the third-most of his season.

“It’s getting above quickly, keeping them hemmed into the zone. Honestly, the easiest defence is good offence. The more time you spend in the o-zone, the less time they have the puck.

“Back to the tracking, the guys have been getting above really well. It creates a great opportunity for our d-man to step up, create good gaps, and turn pucks over so that we can transition quickly and get back on the offence.”

The blowout loss against Dallas begs the question: Is that just noise amidst largely improved play? Or is that the signal that the team is not consistent enough, even on their off nights?

New chemistry

No stranger to playing down a forward in the last couple of weeks, the Oilers lost Leon Draisaitl in the first period, and ice times were spread out against the Preds.

Draisaitl seems unlikely to play, as coach Kris Knoblauch believes “there will be some time without him.” If so, Max Jones will re-enter the fold, as he took rushes on the team’s fourth line at practice on Monday.

The story from the past two games might be the new winger on McDavid’s left side in Matthew Savoie, and the newfound combination of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, and Jack Roslovic.

Savoie finished the rush chance from McDavid to give the Oilers a two-goal lead, his 11th goal and 27th point of the season.

After a hot, then cold, stretch following the Olympic break, Savoie has a goal and assist in two contests, riding shotgun beside McDavid and Hyman. They finished with a dominant 86.15 expected goal share (xGF%).

Meanwhile, Nuge-Dickinson-Roslovic had a 59.37 xGF% in their first game together, outchancing the opposition 6-3. That despite a drowsy Nugent-Hopkins after the arrival of a newborn over the weekend.

Overall, chemistry seems to be building. But the removal of Leon Draisaitl from the team’s lineup is still a gaping hole in the lineup, especially as they prepare for a Sharks team that beat them last time.

Everybody’s gonna have to be better, says McDavid.

“We were disappointed with what happened last time we were in there, felt like we played well enough and kind of gave it away, found a way to lose a game. They’re a really dangerous team, though… they score lots of goals. It’s a high-event game. We gotta do a good job of limiting that.”

Four-point swing

After Saturday night, the Sharks were riding a 5-1-2 stretch, with teenage Hart Trophy candidate Macklin Celebrini the star against the Montreal Canadiens.

The second of their back-to-back did not fare so well, as Laurent Brossoit’s first start in roughly two calendar years (April 18, 2024) saw him allow six goals on 23 shots in an eventual 7-4 loss to Ottawa.

“We didn’t match the physicality well enough,” said Collin Graf. “I think they really took it to us in the corners and in battles and stuff like that, and I think that’s sort of what led to our loss.

The Pacific Division standings picture is tight, with just two points separating the three playoff teams. The Sharks are on the outside looking in at the moment, but have a weaker schedule than most in their remaining 17 games, playing just five games against current playoff teams.

SJ also has three games in hand on the Oilers, so a win to close back within three points would do wonders for their playoff hopes, which sit at 39.1 per cent, according to Moneypuck.

Injuries, goalies

Igor Chernyshov laid knocked out on the ice in Montreal and was taken to the hospital after a hard hit and subsequent fall to the ice. Although he avoided serious damage, it’s unlikely to expect him tonight. He did travel with the team to Ottawa, however.

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Igor Chernyshov had to be helped off the ice after taking a scary fall from this hit

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11:20 PM · Mar 14, 2026

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He’s one of a few banged-up Sharks at the moment. Alexander Wennberg, who’s fourth in team scoring, also missed Sunday with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Yaroslav Askarov’s status is unknown for Tuesday’s game, as well. He’s started both games against the Oilers, going 1-0-1 with a .857 save percentage.

Meanwhile, if Kris Knoblauch is to be believed, it’s Connor Ingram’s crease for the foreseeable future. The only puck to beat him during his 26-save performance against Nashville was Fedor Svechkov’s shot that fluttered after hitting Jack Roslovic’s stick. He is 3-0-1 in his last five starts.

Notes:

Macklin Celebrini is the sixth highest scoring teenager in NHL history on Saturday. He is riding a nine-game point streak with 14 points during that span, while only once being held pointless since the Olympic break.
Celebrini needs five points to become just the sixth teenager to ever register 100 points (Sidney Crosby twice, Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk, Jimmy Carson, and Mario Lemieux).
The Oilers home record in 2026 is now 7-7-1. The Oilers had either trailed at one point, or lost, in nine straight home games, their first wire-to-wire win since shutting out the St. Louis Blues back on January 18.
The Sharks are the second-worst team in goals allowed this season, averaging 3.51 per game. Edmonton is slightly better at 3.37.
Michael Misa has scored in both matchups and has three points total vs EDM. The first-round pick has 16 points in 28 games.
Tyler Toffoli has five points in his last four games.
Kiefer Sherwood since joining the Sharks: three goals, one assist, four points in 11 games. However, his season total is 20 goals, the first of his career. The organization committed to Sherwood for the long-term in early March, extending him for five seasons at $5.75 million annually.
The Oilers are 14/17 on the penalty kill in the last six games since Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson arrived. As Oilersnation contributor Golden Hockey describes, the change of system back to a wedge +1 may be a reason for success.
Overall, that’s plus-1 on special teams, with the powerplay going 4/16 in the same span.
The Oilers have not beaten in regulation at home against a divisional opponent, going 6-0-2.
Oilers record vs. Pacific Division: 10-5-3.
Sharks record vs. Pacific Division: 9-9-3.
These teams will play one more time on April 8.

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and has been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, he also collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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