The Edmonton Oilers showed plenty of character on Friday night after it was revealed that Ales Hemsky was out for the rest of the regular season, but Patrick Marleau netted a hat trick to set the San Jose Sharks up for a 5-4 shootout win.

Joe Pavelski, who struggled for much of the game, scored the lone goal in the shootout for San Jose (17-6-4). Edmonton forward Dustin Penner was then robbed by an Evgeni Nabokov glove save to seal the result.

The Oilers (10-12-4) must now regroup for a Saturday night game on Hockey Night in Canada in Vancouver (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 8 p.m. MT).

Ryan Potulny slips the puck between San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov's pads in the second period for an Edmonton goal. (John Ulan/Canadian Press)

Ryan Potulny led Edmonton with two goals against the Sharks, with Penner and Gilbert Brule each contributing a goal and an assist.

Jeff Deslauriers, in his fifth consecutive start for an ailing Nikolai Khabibulin, made 27 saves in net.

Edmonton appeared headed for a win in a wild third period, but Marleau got his third with just 1:26 left to force overtime. Marleau also assisted on Ryan Clowe's goal in the third as the Sharks battled back from a 3-1 Oilers lead.

"There's no way we should have lost this game tonight and what's disappointing to me is all the good things we did, and yet, what has been … our problem from Day 1 here is we don't cover well around our net," said Edmonton coach Pat Quinn.

"And it's not just a defencemen problem, it's a big forward problem, too."

Joe Thornton assisted on all three Marleau goals and moved into the NHL points lead with 36 (seven goals, 29 assists). Marleau is now fourth on that list with 17 goals and 14 assists.

Nabokov finished with 29 saves.

Edmonton scored twice early in the third to snap a 1-1 tie, but less than five minutes later San Jose had it back on even terms with two goals of their own.

Penner drove to the net to scoop up the rebound of Brule's slapper for a 2-1 lead at the 2:07 mark of the third. Brule intercepted a bad clear from Jason Demers to start the process.

Penner returned the favour just over two minutes later, outfighting Scott Nichol for the puck behind the San Jose net and feeding Brule out front.

Marleau netted his second at 5:55 to start the Sharks off, however. San Jose controlled the puck in the Edmonton end until Thornton found the centre at the doorstep with a laser pass.

The Oilers' defence were again at sea just under three minutes later, scrambling to contain the Sharks. Clowe snapped his fifth of the season from the slot past a screened Deslauriers.

"We have a group that stares at the puck and doesn't recognize danger, doesn't recognize open people," Quinn said.

Potulny's second at 14:57 came at the lip of the crease and was set up by captain Ethan Moreau's rush into the San Jose end.

The Oilers looked clear and free after San Jose took a penalty with just 1:40 left, but 14 seconds later the game was tied.

Dan Boyle forced a faceoff with a shot that Deslauriers had to fall on. Thornton again initiated the goal, and with Deslauriers perhaps unwise to attempt a poke check, Marleau skated around the goalie and put the puck into an empty net for a short-handed marker.

It was his third career regular-season hat trick. He has also netted two playoff hat tricks.

Marleau opened the scoring just over five minutes into the first, and the Oilers were fortunate not to go two goals down later in the frame when Pavelski opted to pass on a short-handed break rather than shoot. The puck skidded out of harm's way.

"We wanted to come out and have a strong start and we did that, we got that first goal, but we kind of laid back and they were able to come back on us," Marleau said.

Edmonton started to play better in the back half of the first period. Andrew Cogliano set up Potulny with a cross-ice pass, but Nabokov muzzled the shot.

The Sharks goalie was then tested by a Sheldon Souray blast.

Thornton and Marleau bore down on Deslauriers on a 2-on-1 early in the second, but Thornton didn't get full impact on his shot.

Sharks forward Jeff Ortmeyer had Deslauriers down not long after that but couldn't get the puck through the bodies gathered in the crease .

Potulny snapped the Oilers out of their funk with a solo effort midway through the period. He stripped the Sharks of the puck in the neutral zone and then took off on a breakaway, sliding the puck between Nabokov's pads.

Cogliano hustled at both ends in overtime, threatening with a scoring chance and then diving to break up a scoring chance for Dany Heatley. The two players were linked in an aborted trade in the summer, with Heatley using a clause in his contract to reject the trade from Ottawa.

"They booed a little bit, but it wasn't so bad," Heatley said. "I thought they played pretty well. I thought we showed a lot of heart in coming back and staying in it and grinding out a win."

Hemsky disappointed

Hemsky will require surgery on his left shoulder and be out at least five months after suffering a torn labrum. General manager Steve Tambellini said it would be a couple of weeks before the 26-year-old would be able to have the surgery.

Ales Hemsky scored his 100th goal in an Oilers uniform earlier this week. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Hemsky was drilled into the boards by Michal Handzus of the Los Angeles Kings in Edmonton's 3-1 loss Wednesday.

But the Pardubice, Czech Republic, native said it was a lingering injury that led to an MRI exam a few weeks ago, and not one that just arose from the Handzus hit.

"I can't point the finger when this happened but I had it for a little while and [was] battling through, trying to play with it and this one was the last straw for me," Hemsky said. "It's frustrating because it's a big year for a lot of people, a lot of players, especially [with] the Olympics. It's disappointing but there's nothing I can do."

Hemsky had seven goals and 15 assists through 22 games. He scored his 100th career NHL goal earlier this week, all with Edmonton.

With Edmonton's last regular-season game on April 11, it means the Oilers would need a playoff run for any chance to see him back this season.