SAN JOSE >> Another season in which the San Jose Sharks have finished at the bottom of the NHL standings has, perhaps mercifully, come to a conclusion.

The Sharks hoped to finish the year on a positive note. But with their 3-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night at SAP Center, they ended with just 20 wins and 52 points, only marginally better than their totals from a season ago.

Ty Emberson and Max Jones scored for the Oilers, who handed the Sharks their 11th straight loss (0-8-3) to end the season. The Sharks finished with a record of 20-50-12.

“I liked our effort. I thought our guys worked hard. I didn’t think we worked smart at times,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “That’s probably been the issue for the majority of the season.”

Also only marginally better for the Sharks? The goals against total, as San Jose allowed a league-worst 312 goals over 82 games, a slightly smaller figure than the 331 they allowed last season during 19-54-9 campaign.

If the Sharks hope to make strides next year and have this be the last season they have the best chance to win the NHL Draft Lottery, it’ll start with how they defend.

A portion of that will come from internal growth from their large cadre of younger players. But help from the Sharks’ front office in that respect would not hurt, as part of the team’s ample salary cap space needs to be used on players — forwards, defensemen, and goalies — who can help San Jose cut down on the number of goals it allows.

No team in the top 16 in the NHL’s overall standings has allowed more than 240 goals this season.

“The biggest thing is probably consistency,” Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun said. “When we showed flashes of competing with the top teams, the difference between us and them is just (play hard) for three periods.”

Naturally, changes are coming, with a handful of players in the Sharks’ lineup likely playing their last game for the team Wednesday. That group will include goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who revealed after Wednesday’s game that general manager Mike Grier told him that the team is letting him walk as a free agent.