The San Jose Sharks missed a chance to secure a playoff spot Tuesday when they lost 1-0 to the St. Louis Blues and the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2.
Thursday featured a different scene, as the Sharks hosted the Oilers on Star Wars night at SAP Center. Yet, it was a back and forth contest between the two teams.
The Sharks took an early 1-0 lead 3:47 into the first period. Roman Polak scored his second goal of the season. Nick Spaling (8) and Tommy Wingels (10) provided the assists on the first goal of the game.
Joe Pavelski scored on the power play to make it 2-0 Sharks with 8:19 left in the first period. Joe Thornton (54) and Logan Couture (19) picked up the assists on the Captain’s 35th goal of the season.
The Sharks led the Oilers 2-0 after 20 minutes of play, outshooting the visiting team 12-4.
The Oilers finally got on the board, as Lauri Korpikoski scored his 10th goal of the season, cutting the lead in half 1:39 into the second period. Two assists were provided by Adam Clendening (5) and Mark Letestu (14).
Taylor Hall tied the game 2-2 with an unassisted goal, his 24th of the season, at 8:18.
Just 45 seconds later, Adam Clendening scored his first NHL goal with Edmonton, putting his team ahead 3-2. Patrick Maroon and Darnell Nurse (7) provided the two assists on Clendening’s goal.
Patrick Marleau scored his 21st goal of the season on the power play and the Sharks tied the game 3-3 at 12:26. Joe Thornton (55) and Brent Burns (40) provided the assists on Marleau’s goal.
Then, the Oilers grabbed a 4-3 lead, courtesy of Maroon. Connor McDavid (29) and Nail Yakupov (13) picked up the assists on Maroon’s seventh goal of the season.
The Sharks outshot the Oilers 21-13 after 40 minutes of play.
A wrist shot by Jordan Eberle put the Oilers up 5-3 at 12:54 of the third period. Maroon (15) and Andrej Sekera provided the assists on Eberle’s 24th goal of the season.
Hall scored again with six seconds left in regulation, allowing the Oilers to sink the Sharks 6-3.
After some time, the Sharks dropped a 6-3 decision to the Oilers at home, despite outshooting their opponent 26-22 after 60 minutes of play.
The team had mixed feelings about their recent play. “There are certain things we try to accomplish. We definitely made a push to make some good plays. . . get a couple goals, take a 2-0 lead. We had our chances, but the game was over. At the end of the night, we need to forget about the game,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “We just have to reset our unit a little bit when it comes to speed, start getting a few pucks back, win faceoffs, all the little things.”
“It was one of those times where I thought I was doing what I needed to do, but it happens sometimes,” goalie James Reimer said. “We played a solid game. I thought it was pretty even. We got some pucks in the net, had some traffic…It’s too bad, but there’s nothing we could do about it now.”
“I don’t know. It was disappointing, considering our first period. I really liked our first period. We controlled a lot of our shots, but after 20 minutes, unfortunately the game slipped away for whatever reason. We were pushed back and didn’t respond,” head coach Peter DeBoer said. “I have everybody’s back. . .You go through a season, you’re going to have games like this, but right now, it’s kind of a time to worry about certain things, but there’s nothing you can do about this. It’s over.”
As of Thursday night, the Sharks (41-27-6) hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference. San Jose is third place in the Pacific Division, trailing the first place Los Angeles Kings by five points and the second-place Anaheim Ducks by two points.
Notes:
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot made his second straight start and third in the past four games, but Todd McLellan said he expects Laurent Brossoit to start again this season, possibly as soon as Saturday at the Los Angeles Kings.
Oilers winger Adam Cracknell replaced center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup and will skate on the fourth line, ending a streak of five straight healthy scratches.
Up Next: Sharks will host the Dallas Stars Saturday at 1 pm PT on CSCA, FSSW.
