Oilers look to snap losing streak against the Sharks

As the Edmonton Oilers look for ways to avoid their fifth straight loss, the revolving door continues to spin.

Several players are expected back in the lineup, but the Oilers will be without one of their surprising offensive weapons when they host the San Jose Sharks.

Alex Chiasson is out with a foot injury suffered during Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Chiasson, who joined the Oilers on a professional tryout contract in October after winning a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in June, was placed on injured reserve after undergoing an MRI on Friday, meaning he's out for at least a week.

Chiasson has a career-best 16 goals in 31 games, good for third on the team behind two-time scoring champion Connor McDavid (19 goals) and Leon Draisaitl (18).

"We can't rely on two (or) three guys to score all our goals especially with Chaser going down now. We need more guys to step up," said Drake Caggiula, who has seven goals and missed Thursday's loss with a bug caught during the Christmas break.

Edmonton (18-16-3) may have defenseman Kris Russell back for the first time since an undisclosed injury on Dec. 11. If he doesn't play Saturday, then he almost certainly will Monday against the Winnipeg Jets.

While Jason Garrison (illness) could be back on the blueline as well, the Oilers are still without high-scoring defenseman Oscar Klefbom (hand) until at least the end of January.

"We got smacked right in the face with injuries, and injuries to the wrong spot in our group where we couldn't absorb it and now we're trying to fight out of it," said coach Ken Hitchcock, who made his debut as Edmonton's coach on Nov. 20 with a 4-3 overtime win against the Sharks.

Forward Jujhar Khaira should be good to go for the Oilers after a two-game ban for cross-checking St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn on Dec. 18. Khaira registered eight of his 13 points this season over his last 10 games.

The loss to Vancouver started a seven-game stretch against Western Conference opponents, including two meetings with the Sharks.

"We have to take it game by game. (Saturday), we have a tough team, a good team coming in here," Khaira said.

San Jose (20-12-7) avoided going winless on a four-game homestand with a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

"We'll take the win," coach Peter DeBoer said. "It was what an after-break game would look like. It was a little sloppy and a little messy, but we found a way."

The Sharks start a three-game swing with an 8-8-3 mark away from home. DeBoer noted that the next few weeks could be telling about the state of his club.

"There's no doubt we've got three weeks of a lot of games and a lot of tough opponents. ... (The players) know what's on the horizon and they know the work that we've got to do between now and then," he said.

Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture remain two players to watch. Pavelski, who has a team-best 23 goals, also has three goals and three assists in a six-game points streak in Edmonton. Couture did not register a point on the homestand but has five goals in a four-game run on the road.

San Jose will also have a key player returning from suspension. Defenseman Erik Karlsson drew the first ban of his 10-year career for a check to the head of Los Angeles Kings winger Austin Wagner on Dec. 22.

Karlsson has a nine-game assists streak and has 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) since Nov. 13.