NHL's worst face off as Oilers visit Sharks
CTV
The two teams with the fewest points in the NHL square off on Thursday night when the Edmonton Oilers visit the San Jose Sharks.
The two teams with the fewest points in the NHL square off on Thursday night when the Edmonton Oilers visit the San Jose Sharks.
It's no surprise the rebuilding Sharks have started slowly, tying an NHL record with an 11-game winless streak to start the season before grinding out a 2-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
But the fact that Edmonton, led by arguably the two best players on the planet in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and expected to challenge for the Western Conference crown, comes into the contest with just two wins and five points after 11 games is head-scratching.
The Oilers have lost three straight games and seven of their last eight games (1-6-1), including a 6-2 loss at Vancouver on Monday.
McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner as the league's MVP after leading the NHL in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153) last season, is in the midst of a six-game goal drought and has just two goals and 10 points so far this season. He did miss two games with an upper-body injury suffered in the fifth game against Winnipeg and speculation has arisen that he isn't close to being 100 percent healthy.
"Obviously frustrating," McDavid said after Monday's loss. "I felt like we did a lot of good things in the first period and found ourselves down and chasing the game again."
Edmonton outshot Vancouver 19-2 to start the game and 21-8 in the first period but still trailed 3-1.
