The set-up: The 18-12-5 Edmonton Oilers look to extend their winning streak to four games when they visit the 20-12-1 San Jose Sharks on Friday night in a showdown for first place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers will be attempting to wrap up a perfect three-game road trip after ending a long streak of futility at Arizona on Wednesday, beating the Coyotes in regulation for the first time in 26 meetings. Meanwhile, the Sharks improved to 5-1-0 their last six, with a dominating 4-1 victory over Calgary on Tuesday to remain tied with Edmonton atop the Pacific (both teams have 41 points).

Edmonton: The Oilers are looking to sweep a three-game road trip and post their fourth consecutive win overall in tonight's game. After opening the swing with a 3-2 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Monday, the Oilers topped the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Thursday, their first regulation win in 25 meetings in the series. Edmonton is receiving some solid offensive production from its fourth line, with the trio of Mark Letestu, Zack Kassian and Matt Hendricks combining for seven points at Arizona. Letestu has three goals and four assists over the past five games and his 11 points over the last 11 games are second on the team to Leon Draisaitl during that span. "It's easy chemistry with those guys," Letestu said. "We've been consistent over the last little stretch here and were rewarded with some goals."

San Jose: The Sharks feature all the pieces necessary to contend for the Stanley Cup for a second straight season (lost to Pittsburgh in last year's Finals) and San Jose will be looking for its sixth win in seven games after Tuesday' 4-1 win over Calgary.
San Jose goalie Martin Jones has made 29 starts, going 17-11-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and two shutouts. "I don't think we've overplayed him," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told the San Jose Mercury News. "Whether the way the schedule's laid out or the games (rookie backup Aaron Dell) has played have come at the right time where (Jones) has got a few days here and there. It doesn't feel overtaxing to me right now." Jones has made eight starts this month, posting a 5-3-0 record with a 2.22 GAA.

The pick: Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot has appeared in two more games-- and posted 185 more saves -- than Jones. Talbot has six wins over in nine starts in December, and is 17-10-4 in 31 starts with a 2.50 GAA, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts. However, the bottom line is this. The Sharks went 2-1-1 against the Oilers last season despite being outscored 11-10 but San Jose has been dominant in the series in recent years, going 13-3-2 since March 2012. Make San Jose an 8* play.