The San Jose Sharks were shutout for the second straight game as the Edmonton Oilers escaped with a 1-0 victory in Game 3 at SAP Center on Sunday.
After playing the first two games in Edmonton, the Sharks were back in San Jose to host the Oilers for Games 3 and 4.
Both teams managed to kill off their penalties late in the opening period. Oilers forward Benoit Pouliot went to the box for roughing with 3:17 left in the period. Sharks veteran forward Joel Ward was called for tripping 72 seconds later.
The Sharks outshot the Oilers as both teams skated to a scoreless deadlock after 20 minutes.
Oilers rookie captain and center Connor McDavid had a wraparound attempt at 15:49 of the second period, but Sharks goalie Martin Jones denied his attempt and then put away a one-timer by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Shots were 18-17 in favor of the Oilers as the game remained scoreless through 40 minutes.
The Oilers broke open the scoring with 9:15 left in the third period. Zack Kassian scored an unassisted goal for his second of the playoffs to give his team a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks took a timeout with 42.6 seconds left in regulation, but they were unable to get the puck into the net. They lost to the Oilers 1-0. Jones made 21 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.
The Oilers lead the series 2-1. Cam Talbot stopped all 23 shots he faced for Edmonton.
“We need to find a way to get to them (Oilers) and their goalie (Talbot),” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said when asked about his offensive frustration. “There were parts of our game that were really good, and it was a good game, but they played a good game as well, and they won.”
“I don’t think we changed,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said. “We had the momentum early. They grabbed it in the second and the third was even.”
DeBoer added: “I thought both teams were good defensively. I was happy with our defensive game and Todd’s probably saying the same thing…I thought they had some good looks, but we limited a lot of their time and space, and I’m sure Todd was saying the same thing as the game went on…The game-winner was a one goal game, a one shot game, and this time of the year, you just got to find the right side of the net, so obviously we have to score to win, so offensively we gotta concentrate on. We gotta find a way to get a couple of goals here.”
Notes
Scratched: Kevin Labanc, Dylan DeMelo, Michael Haley
Injured: None
Joe Thornton returned to the lineup after sustaining a knee injury on April 2.
Brent Burns was Sunday night’s SAP Featured Player.
The Sharks announced a sellout crowd of 17,562.
Up Next
The Sharks (1-2) and Oilers (2-1) meet again for Game 4 at SAP Center on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. PST on NBCSN, SN, TVAS and NBCSCA.
