SAN JOSE – Connor McDavid scored on a breakaway on the 31-second mark of extra time, taking an outlet move from goalie Mike Smith and beating James Reimer with a backhand shot to present the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 win over the Sharks at SAP Middle.
The aim was McDavid’s forty first of the yr, because the Sharks fell to 0-2-1 towards the Oilers this season.
The Sharks had been practically excellent on the defensive finish for the primary 50 minutes of the sport as they owned a 1-0 lead on Tomas Hertl’s first-period power-play aim. The one difficulty was their incapacity so as to add to the lead regardless of a number of Grade-A possibilities, particularly early within the second interval.
The Sharks completed with 32 pictures, together with 22 after the primary interval.
“We did every thing we would have liked to do 5-on-5. That’s one among our greatest video games in a very long time,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner stated. “Little little bit of a narrative of our yr. We had so many possibilities, Smith performs nice. You'll be able to’t get the second aim you want and it modified the entire section of the sport and that’s a crew that takes benefit of issues.”
The Oilers made the Sharks pay for his or her incapacity so as to add a second aim, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored shorthanded on the 11:56 mark of the third interval, as he took a move from Zach Hyman and poked it previous Reimer to tie the sport 1-1.
Nugent-Hopkins outbattled Sharks ahead Scott Reedy at heart ice to take a protracted clearing move off the glass from Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.
After Nurse picked up a free puck within the Sharks’ zone that had been batted again by Ryan Merkley, he discovered Hyman along with the Sharks internet to the correct of Reimer. Hyman then handed it again underneath the stick of a sliding Merkley, and Nugent-Hopkins scored his tenth of the season.
“Merkley tried to dive, (Nick) Bonino went to the identical man Merkley did when he dove, our different two forwards obtained beat up the ice by Nurse,” Boughner stated. “Many errors.”
The Sharks (29-31-9) have now allowed 9 shorthanded objectives this season, third-most within the NHL with each Montreal and New Jersey each permitting 11.
“Currently, we’ve given up an excessive amount of. We enable too many possibilities on our energy play,” Hertl stated. “I do know we get one (energy play) aim, but it surely simply can’t occur. Our particular groups should be actually robust if we wish to win some video games.”
The Sharks have now scored 15 objectives of their final six video games as they fell to 1-4-1 since a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames on March 22. The Sharks host the Pacific Division-leading Flames on Thursday to finish a three-game homestand.
“(At even power), we generated, we performed laborious, we had been bodily,” Boughner stated. “We collapsed and took away numerous stuff round our internet, so these are the methods we wish to play.
“We’ve obtained to begin scoring, that’s the underside line. You'll be able to’t go on a nightly foundation and rating one aim, two objectives. Doesn’t matter how effectively you play, we’ve obtained to discover a technique to put it behind the web.”
Hertl’s aim got here on the 15:32 mark of the primary interval, as he one-timed a move from Brent Burns previous Smith for his twenty seventh aim of the season and a 1-0 Sharks lead.
From there, the Sharks, with their 1-1-3 system, held the Oilers to 17 pictures within the first two durations, and only one shot by means of the primary 12 minutes of the third interval.
Edmonton sorely missed injured heart Leon Draisaitl, who got here into Tuesday with 50 objectives and 101 factors. The Sharks went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Edmonton had scored a mixed 32 objectives in its final six video games earlier than Tuesday and had outscored the Sharks 8-2 in two prior conferences this season.
“We did so many nice issues, and that was encouraging,” Boughner stated. “That was the most effective sport we’ve performed in a very long time.”
McDavid was held to 1 shot on aim by means of the primary two durations, as he was on the ice principally towards Sharks captain Logan Couture.
“We needed to get down and take his ice and (Couture) in all probability had him 95 % of the time as an project, and I believed they did an excellent job,” stated Boughner, including later that Couture is “one of many higher guys within the league for those who give him an project. He takes numerous satisfaction in enjoying towards high gamers. I believed he did a heck of a job.”
The Sharks got here into Tuesday on a three-game shedding streak, falling to Arizona and Colorado on the street final week earlier than returning house and being crushed by the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Saturday.
After Thursday’s house sport with the Flames, who got here into Tuesday with a five-point lead within the Pacific Division, the Sharks have a five-game street journey towards Vancouver, Nashville, Chicago, Dallas, and Minnesota.
