Sharks make lineup changes ahead of marquee matchup against McDavid, Oilers

SAN JOSE – The reeling San Jose Sharks are making some lineup changes for their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, inserting Shakir Mukhamadullin for Timothy Liljegren on defense and Pavol Regenda for Ryan Reaves on the fourth line.

Mukhamadullin was a healthy scratch in the Sharks’ 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday and, through a mix of injuries and scratches, has played in just 26 of 56 games so far this season.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he wanted Mukhamadullin to be on his toes defensively as they play one of the NHL’s most offensively prolific teams in the Oilers. Edmonton’s captain, Connor McDavid, leads the NHL with 100 points in 60 games, and the Oilers are third in the NHL with an average of 3.52 goals per game after they smacked the Los Angeles Kings 8-1 on Thursday.

“Just play solid hockey, defend with some urgency and some jam,” Warsofsky said of what he wants to see from Mukhamadullin. “Puck play is critical. (Be) a guy that can help us keep pucks out of the back of our net. Keep taking another step.”

Earlier this week, Mukhamadullin expressed his frustration with how this season has unfolded and pondered where he is in his career.

Mukhamadullin’s ice time has been notably down from 2024-25, as he’s averaging 16:15 per game, well below the 18:04 he posted in 30 NHL games last season.

“Honestly, I’m not happy with how my season is going,” Mukhamaduklin told the Bay Area News Group. “Not playing that many games. Also have, like, small ice time. When I play, it’s always 13, 14 minutes.

“But it is what it is. Just try to stay positive every day. Just a lot of thinking in my head right now about my season, but just stay positive and just prepare for every game and be ready.”

The Sharks (27-25-4) have lost their last five games and enter Saturday five points back of the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Warsofsky said he understood that Mukhamadullin was frustrated but added that, “you have to play well. It’s the National Hockey League. We’re in a unique situation as an organization, where we’re trying to develop some players. We’re also trying to win critical hockey games down the stretch where we didn’t think we were going to be where we are.”

Liljegren made a costly error in the third period of Thursday’s loss to Calgary. With the Sharks trailing by one, Liljegren’s attempted outlet pass went off a Flames forward instead and right to Nazem Kadri, who scored to give Calgary a 3-1 lead.

Regenda also did not play in Thursday’s loss but is coming off an impressive performance at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, where he had three goals and two assists in six games for Slovakia, which finished fourth.

Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov will start Saturday’s game after he made 25 saves in Thursday’s loss. Askarov is 0-0-2 in two career starts against the Oilers, stopping 67 of 74 shots for a .905 save percentage. In San Jose’s game in Edmonton on Jan. 29, Askarov and the Sharks had a three-goal lead in the third period before the Oilers charged back to tie the game and send it into overtime, where Zach Hyman scored to give Edmonton a 4-3 win.

Saturday’s game marks the first meeting between McDavid and Sharks top line center Macklin Celebrini since they were linemates for Canada at the Olympic Games. McDavid led the tournament with 13 points in six games, and Celebrini had 10 points, with his five goals leading all skaters.

Celebrini is the NHL’s fifth-leading scorer with 81 points in 56 games, although he’s been held off the scoresheet in three of his last four games.

Warsofsky said he and Celebrini discussed what he saw from certain players at the Olympics and how they play.

“Mack is a real student of the game, one, so he obviously learned some things by playing with arguably the two best players in the world in (Colorado Avalanche center) Nathan McKinnon and McDavid,” Warsofsky said. “Your pace has to be extremely high, so Mack’s done a really good job of taking it all in and soaking it all in, and he’ll get better from it.”