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The Day After 61.0: Oilers fail to build any momentum with loss to struggling Sharks
Photo credit: © Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
One step forward, one step back.
After an 8-1 win over the Kings in Los Angeles that felt like the team’s most complete effort of the season, the Edmonton Oilers followed it up Saturday with a 5-4 loss to a San Jose Sharks team that came in riding a five-game losing streak.
Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring eight minutes into the first, and Michael Misa made it 2-0 on the power play a couple of minutes later. Leon Draisaitl got Edmonton on the board late in the period, but Barclay Goodrow restored the two-goal lead before the intermission.
Evan Bouchard scored for Edmonton in the second, then Trent Frederic tied the score at 3-3 with his third goal of the year three minutes into the third. The Sharks jumped back ahead minutes later, Jake Walman tied the score again not long after that, and then Shakir Mukhamadullin pulled the rope back in San Jose’s favour once and for all.
It was loose. It was open. It was the kind of game the Oilers say they want to get away from.
For San Jose, the win snapped a five-game skid that started with a blown 3-0 lead in Edmonton before the Olympic break. For the Oilers, it wiped out whatever momentum they built in L.A.
Over their last 10 games, Edmonton has allowed three goals or fewer only twice. One was the 8-1 win over the Kings. The other was a 4-3 overtime win against these same Sharks after giving up three goals in the first period.
The pattern is difficult to ignore. When the Oilers defend with structure and get timely saves, they look like contenders. When they trade chances and lose coverage in their own zone, they look nothing like the team that’s reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
With the trade deadline coming up on Friday, there isn’t much time left to tweak things. If help isn’t coming, this is the group that will be asked to sort it out come playoff time.
What they said…
Forward Leon Draisaitl on what went wrong for the Oilers…
“It’s everybody. Everyone is making the wrong reads right now and we’re maybe a little bit of fragile in our decision making. We’ve got to find a way to fix it.”
Defenceman Darnell Nurse on how the Oilers can improve…
“It starts with us, starts with the leaders, then goes from there. Throughout the lineup, there are some guys who stepped up and made some really good plays tonight.”
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch on taking a step back after a big win…
“You have a game like we did in L.A. and you feel really good about yourself and think you’re going to be able to do it again. You think you have everything figured out.“It’s unfortunate. You score three goals in this league, you win most of the time. Four, you should be winning. You shouldn’t be forced to score five or six to win.”
San Jose head coach Ryan Warsofsky on his team’s first victory since January…
“I thought we did some really good things. Like our first. Did some good things in the second. Obviously, they’re a good team, and they’re going to push, and they did that in the third period of the game. It opened up a little bit too much for our liking, but we found a way to win a hockey game.”
Up next…
After going 1-2 on their California swing, the Oilers return home for games against Ottawa and Carolina next week before heading back on the road Sunday for a critical Pacific Division matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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