Oilers step up without Draisaitl, get ‘offence by committee’ to sink Sharks 5-3

By Canadian Press on March 17, 2026.

EDMONTON — Adam Henrique earned a pair of assists as the Edmonton Oilers were able to rally without star forward Leon Draisaitl to pick up a huge 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor Murphy, Vasily Podkolzin, Max Jones and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers (34-26-9) who have won two straight to improve to 5-2-1 in March and moved at least temporarily into a tie with Anaheim atop the Pacific Division standings.

The Oilers were without the services of Draisaitl, who is fourth in league scoring, after it was announced earlier in the day that he is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury.

Dmitry Orlov, Pavol Regenda and Kiefer Sherwood replied for the Sharks (32-28-6) who have lost two in a row and five of their last seven.

Connor Ingram recorded 27 saves to earn the win in the Edmonton net, while Alex Nedeljkovic made 32 stops for San Jose.

TAKEAWAYS

Sharks: Teenage phenom Macklin Celebrini had his nine-game point streak halted and was held without a point for the first time since the Olympic break. He had 14 points during the streak and remains five points from becoming just the sixth teenager in NHL history to ever register 100 points.

Oilers: Leading scorer among NHL defencemen Evan Bouchard picked up an assist to give him 26 points and a plus-22 rating in 18 career games against the Sharks. He has 32 points in his last 21 games overall.

KEY MOMENT

The Oilers went up 5-3 with 11:48 to play in the third period as Hyman picked up a rebound in front and lifted a backhand shot into the net from his knees for his 29th goal in just 50 games this season.

KEY STAT

Edmonton now has nine consecutive home wins over the Sharks.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press