The 2021-22 NHL campaign is all but wrapped up
for the Sharks, but they used the second to last game of the season to make a
game of their stop in Edmonton on Thursday night. The Sharks held leads on
three occasions, but fell to the Oilers on an overtime goal to Zach Hyman. It
would have been easy for San Jose to roll over as they prepare for the
off-season, but they showed enough fight to push the Oilers to extra hockey.
Edmonton was playing to lock up the 2nd spot in the Pacific Division, so they
were motivated to win.
The Sharks would outshoot the Oilers 17-7 in
the opening period, but it was a spurt by Sharks forward Noah Gregor which
caught Edmonton flat-footed.
The Edmonton native scored his 7th goal
of the season 2:42 into the game, after the Oilers turned the puck over in
their own end. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen tried to move the puck to the right
side of the ice after making a stop, but Sasha Chmelevski beat two defenders to
it and dropped a backhand pass to the right dot from the right wing boards.
Gregor scooped up the pass and snapped a shot that beat Koskinen low to the
stick side.
The Rogers Place announcer didn't even announce Gregor's
first goal before the Sharks forward bagged another one. Edmonton turned the
puck over at their own blueline when Thomas Bourdeleau stepped in front of a
clearing attempt. After receiving a pass on the right end line, Gregor tried to
place a centering chance to Rudolfs Balcers on the left post, but the puck hit
defenseman Evan Bouchard in the skate before redirecting through Koskinen's
pads.
The goals were a 26 seconds apart.
James Reimer helped
preserve the Sharks lead with a big save on Hyman 7 minutes into the 2nd
period. The Oilers forward slipped past the Sharks defense and raced in on net,
but Reimer stood tall. He would defend on the front half of a penalty kill
after Mario Ferraro was whistled for hooking, but he couldn't keep the Oilers
at bay all night.
The Oilers power play would cash in on the second
half of the Ferraro penalty, when Ryan McLeod pushed a puck past Reimer for his
9th of the season at 9:17 of the period.
Edmonton tied it up 6 minutes
later when Kailer Yamamoto lifted a puck, squeezing it between Reimer and the
right post for his 20th of the season at 9:17.
Evander Kane was sent
off for tripping at 13:59, but it could have easily been called kneeing, as the
Oilers forward extended his leg to try and stop Ryan Merkley. The Sharks
regained the lead when Scott Reedy tipped a Brent Burns shot on the power play.
The goal was Reedy's 7th of the season.
Derek Ryan tied the game at
3-3 9:37 into the 3rd period.
Nick Bonino helped San Jose reclaim the
lead at 10:40, when the Sharks cycled the puck in following a center-ice
faceoff win. Logan Couture sent a quick tap pass out to the front of the net
where Bonino one-timed it past Kosinen for his 16th goal of the season.
The lead was short lived.
Rookie Philip Broberg scored his
first NHL goal a minute later on a play similar to Bonino's goal. Oilers
captain Connor McDavid carried the puck out of the right corner and feathered a
pass out to the slot as Broberg sliced toward the net. The rookie one-timed a
shot that beat Reimer inside the left post to make it a 4-4 game.
The Oilers controlled the play and received a huge
advantage with 7 minutes left in regulation when Nicolas Meloche was called for
a high-sticking double minor after he cut Zack Kassian with an errant stick.
The Sharks penalty kill and Reimer did a yeoman's job against the high
powered Oiler power play, killing all 4 minutes.
Edmonton locked up
the 2nd spot in the Pacific Division when Hyman snapped a shot past Reimer in
the overtime period after Gregor and Brent Burns collapsed on Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins on the right side. Nugent-Hopkins slid a pass across the slot to
Hyman on the left wing for the slam dunk goal to end it 1:37 into the extra
frame.
Game Notes: * Noah Gregor set a franchise record
for the fastest pair of goals by a single player. Jonathan Dahlen had set the
record earlier in the season.
* The Thomas Bordeleau experiment
continues on. The rookie had an assist, 2 shots, a blocked shot, a hit and was
6 of 10 on draws. He was also on the ice for the game wining goal.
*
Logan Couture has struggled of late to find any holes in opposing goaltenders.
He had a decent scoring change in the opening period, but was upended on his
way to the net. He did manage a pair of assists on the goals scored by Scott
Reedy and Nick Bonino. Couture extended his scoring streak to 4 games (all
assists).
* Timo Meier and Noah Gregor combined for 12 of the Sharks
43 shots. Mario Ferraro was the only Shark skater without a shot on goal.
* Nick Bonino has 4 goals in his last 4 games. Scott Reedy has scored
in back to back games for the first time this season.
