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Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

4 Takeaways From Oilers’ 3-0 Win Over Sharks in Regular Season Finale

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Brian Swane | Last updated Apr 17, 2025 9:50 AM ET

The Edmonton Oilers closed out their 2024-25 regular season schedule with a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Wednesday (April 16).

Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner saved all 18 shots he faced. Ty Emberson, Max Jones, and Corey Perry each had a goal for the Oilers, who scored once in every period. Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power-play.

Edmonton was playing without several regulars that have been sidelined by injury, including Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman, Troy Stecher and Jake Walman. Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse also sat out the contest as he served his one-game suspension for cross-checking Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield on Monday (April 14).

Standings-wise, it was a meaningless game for the Oilers, who were already locked into third place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers finish the season with a record of 48-29-5 for 101 points, the fewest they’ve totalled in an 82-game season since 2018-19. Edmonton will now face the Kings in a best-of-seven series in the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Historic Shutout for Skinner

Skinner made history on Wednesday, as this was the first time since Edmonton joined the NHL in 1979-80 that an Oilers goalie recorded a shutout in the team’s last game of the regular season.

The Edmonton goalie made six saves in each period en route to his seventh NHL career shutout, three of which have come against the Sharks. His toughest stop might have been the last one of the game, with just 52 seconds remaining, when he robbed San Jose forward William Eklund in the slot.

While Skinner didn’t have his finest season in 2024-25, the 26-year-old has performed well in his two outings since returning to action last week after being sidelined for several games with a concussion. In his first game back, on Sunday (April 13), Skinner stopped 17 shots to backstop Edmonton to a 4-1 win over the host Winnipeg Jets.

Even though neither Sunday’s contest at Canada Life Centre nor Wednesday’s match at SAP Center was a truly difficult test for Skinner (the Jets rested several key players, and the Sharks are the league’s lowest-scoring team), his play is still encouraging and should provide the goalie with a boost going into the playoffs.

Oilers in the Line of Fire

One reason that Skinner didn’t have to face a ton of rubber is the selfless efforts of teammates in front of him: Edmonton players blocked a total of 25 shots, equalling the most blocks the Oilers have recorded in any game this season.

Oilers blueliner Brett Kulak led the way Wednesday with eight blocked shots, tying himself for the team high in 2024-25. No other Oilers player has more than seven blocks in a game since 2020-21; Kulak has done it twice this season.

Meanwhile, defenceman Cam Dineen recorded an NHL career-high four blocked shots against the Sharks. All told, 11 Oilers blocked at least one shot. It was a testament to those players who did dress for Edmonton on Wednesday that they were unafraid to sacrifice their bodies in a game that had no bearing in the final standings.

McDavid Notches 100^th Point

Connor McDavid picked up his 100^th point of 2024-25 when he assisted on the game’s opening goal, scored by Emberson 8:20 into the first period.

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

That gives the Oilers captain eight seasons with at least 100 points, tying Marcel Dionne for third most in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky leads the way with 15 seasons of 100 or more points, while Mario Lemieux is second with 10 such campaigns.

McDavid, who missed 15 games this season for various reasons, ends 2024-25 with 26 goals, his fewest since scoring 16 times as a rookie in 2015-16, and 74 assists, his least since doling out 72 apples during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Depth Scoring Propels Oilers

With Edmonton’s top four leading goal scorers this season – Draisaitl (52 goals), Hyman (27), McDavid (26) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (20) – all missing games due to injury over the latter part of the schedule, other Oilers have been stepping up recently, especially on Wednesday.

Jones hadn’t scored in the NHL since March 1, 2024, a streak of 33 games, going back to when he was a member of the Boston Bruins. His goal Wednesday, which came at 10:17 of the middle frame, was his first in 19 games as an Oiler. Emberson, meanwhile, had just one goal in 75 games this season before scoring against the Sharks.

Over their final 10 games, the Oilers only got three goals total from the quartet of Draisaitl, Hyman, McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins, and yet Edmonton still managed to go 7-3-0. Eighteen different players have recorded at least one point for the Oilers over the last 10 games.

This is a very positive development for an Oilers team that relied so heavily on its big guns for much of the season. In some respects, the injury bug that ravaged Edmonton’s roster over the last few weeks might be a blessing in disguise, because many Oilers have gained confidence and experience by playing in key situations that they might not have otherwise been part of.

That could prove invaluable, as it remains to be seen which of the injured Oilers will be back in time for the start of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the schedule has yet to be announced, Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk reported that Game 1 between the Oilers and Kings will be Monday (April 21) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.