LOOOOOOOOOCH! That’s a huge comeback win. Final Score: 4-2 Oilers
How badly did the Oilers need to win this hockey game? The Sharks were playing without both Joe Thornton and Logan Couture (have they poured Pepsi on themselves?) and that meant there was a huge opportunity for the Oil to walk away from San Jose with two big points to go with their probable sunburn. This wasn’t just any game either it was a potential playoff preview and you’d think the boys would have been fired up. Unfortunately, the Oilers seemed to miss the start of the game as they got off to a brutal start which found them shorthanded twice and down by a goal less than 10 minutes into the game. Despite the slow start, the Oilers were able to settle in and regain their composure, even controlling the play throughout the majority of the second period.
Puck dominance aside, the Oilers couldn’t get much of anything past Martin Jones through 40 minutes which allowed San Jose to hang around and catch enough lucky breaks to give themselves a lead heading into the third. Despite being down a goal, Edmonton had a real chance to win this game if they could continue to play the way they were playing in the 2nd period. While the period started out slowly the catalyst was a huge penalty shot save by Cam Talbot which seemed to spark his team and propel them (Lucic specifically) to an offensive outburst that saw three unanswered third-period goals. For the Oilers, this was a massive comeback win that they had to have against a depleted Sharks team.
Not only did they get the win but also set the tone for what a potential playoff series might look like.
Wrap it up.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Edmonton desperately needed a goal to tie the game up and it was the captain that made it happen. Connor McDavid hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career by floating alongside the play and pouncing on the loose puck that was laying there for him. Connor added an assist on one of Lucic’s third-period goals which gets him to 97 points on the year.
  • Milan Lucic was a monster tonight. What else can you say about a guy that scores a natural hat trick (21, 22, 23) in the third period to not only tie the game but also win it and give his team some insurance. Lucic was only an assist away from another hat trick of the Gordie Howe variety after also letting the fists fly with Micheal Haley in the first period. Looch was chucking fist kisses like Haley owed him money and it seemed to spark the boys after a sluggish start. As always, you can check out Lucic’s fight on his player page over at HockeyFights.com. Great night for Lucic.
  • Oscar Klefbom quietly got himself four assists on the night which gives him 36 points on the year. This guy might be one of the best defencemen in the league that no one is talking about.
  • Cam Talbot wasn’t overly busy tonight but he came up big when they needed him. Actually, I’d argue that he was better than his stats as he made some huge saves, including a penalty shot in the third period. Dadbot finished the night with 13 saves and a .857 save%.
  • That was a good night for the EberNucic line and the Oilers are going to need them to keep it up.
  • The Oilers got another big third-period power play goal which tied the game and kept them hot with the man advantage. Edmonton finished at 2/5 with the man advantage.
  • Just as the PP came up clutch as did the PK. Edmonton killed off all four of San Jose’s power play chances and didn’t really give them many chances at all.

THE FACE PALMERS

  • Joel Ward’s first-period goal should have never happened if the refs had been doing their job. Connor had the puck, got tripped clear as day, and the play continued down to the other ice where Ward ended up getting the puck through Talbot with a tip. Complete bullshit.
  • Edmonton was dominating the second period, limiting the Sharks to very little scoring chances. That was until Brent Burns threw a floater from the blue line into traffic and it somehow made it’s way through the maze of bodies and beat Talbot. Lame.
  • The Oilers basically started the game shorthanded and it gave the Sharks all kinds of chances to take an early lead. Actually, the Oilers gave up too many power play chances in general. Fortunately, the Sharks couldn’t get anything done on any of their four chances as the PK was rock solid.
  • How many ways are there to say that the refs are terrible? I feel like I’ve run out of adjectives. Can I give an assist to them? Because I feel like I should. Garbage. All garbage.
  • The Oilers went 42% in the faceoff circle but still won the game. Doesn’t mean they can’t improve.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
06:08
SJ
Joel Ward (10) ASST: David Schlemko (16), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (21)
0-1

2ND PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
04:40
EDM
Connor McDavid (30) ASST: Oscar Klefbom (21), Adam Larsson (15)
1-1
12:30
SJ
Brent Burns (29) ASST: Tomas Hertl (12)
1-2

3RD PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
04:26
EDM
PPG – Milan Lucic (21) ASST: Oscar Klefbom (22), Connor McDavid (67)
2-2
07:57
EDM
Milan Lucic (22) ASST: Oscar Klefbom (23), Jordan Eberle (31)
3-2
16:31
EDM
PPG – Milan Lucic (23) ASST: Mark Letestu (19), Oscar Klefbom (24)
4-2

BEST OF THE TWEETS

Talk to me, Twitter. Tweet at @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk for your chance to land in the Best of the Tweets.

DREAMING OF A VACATION?

It’s time to set your out-of-office email reply to “soaking up the sun down south.” Whether you want to party on the Las Vegas Strip, take the whole family down to California, or enjoy some much-needed rest and relaxation in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, our travel experts handpicked the top vacation packages. Click for details.