KOVALENKO, KOSTIN SIT: Forwards and pending restricted free agents Nikolai Kovalenko and Klim Kostin will be the Sharks’ healthy scratches against the Oilers. For Kostin, it marked the sixth time in seven games that he’s been scratched, and for Kovalenko, it was his sixth straight game as a spectator.

The Ducks were off on Monday while the Sharks also rested following three games in four nights. Those began with a shootout win to upset Toronto, 6-5, but then devolved into a home loss to the Rangers and a road defeat at the hands of the Kings, which came by a gruesome 14-2 aggregate score.

The Anaheim Ducks are 9-9-2 since the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off break and have fallen entirely out of the Western Conference Playoff race, in which they had made a brief appearance early in March when they were within six points (as recent as March 5) of the second Wild Card spot.

Welcome back to another edition of NHL Predictions. Each day, our team here at Last Word on Hockey reviews the scheduled games and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will win in key head-to-head matchups.

The Ducks, who play Thursday night at Calgary, see individual and team improvements despite scant postseason odds.

“You win in this league by playing good defense and goaltending,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said after a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on March 21. “We’ve got to continue to push forward with that, and every time we have a chance to get better, we’ve got to get better and win that day.”

No one is sure when Connor McDavid will return to the Oilers' lineup, but it won't be for Edmonton's Thursday road game against the San Jose Sharks.

The Ducks will finish a five-game homestand with a vist from a division rival, tonight hosting the San Jose Sharks at Honda Center. PUCK DROP: 7:30 P.M. | WHERE TO WATCH | AUDIO: DUCKS STREAM | NHL GA