San Jose (29-5-5) at Edmonton (19-17-3), 9:00 p.m. EST
EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- The San Jose Sharks have lost
touch with their consistent winning ways.
After failing to generate another winning streak, the Sharks
look to bounce back from a loss when they face the Edmonton
Oilers on Friday.
After starting the season 25-3-2, the Sharks have posted a
pedestrian 4-2-3 mark, which includes a 5-2 loss to the Calgary
Flames on Tuesday.
In that contest, Daymond Langkow's second goal of the evening
ended the game for Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who was
pulled for the first time this season by being replaced by Brian
Boucher.
Nabokov finished with 14 saves on 18 shots and his record fell
to 21-4-4.
San Jose has alternated losses and wins over the last five
games, and has dropped two in a row just twice this season.
The Oilers had their two-game winning streak come to an end with
a 4-2 loss to Mats Sundin and the Vancouver Canucks on
Wednesday.
Ales Hemsky is not expected to play, still recovering from a
concussion suffered in Edmonton's 5-2 win over the Nashville
Predators on December 28. The 25-year-old Czech has collected
19 of his 35 points on the power play.
