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Reeling Sharks look to bounce back against Oilers

Jan 9, 2009 - 11:49 AM 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.