The Edmonton Oilers could get a chance to catch their breath when they host the struggling San Jose Sharks on Saturday afternoon, but they don’t plan to slow down.
The Oilers have won six of their past seven games and nine of 11, knocking off several of the NHL’s top teams along the way.
Edmonton most recently made a late rally to get into overtime and then beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on the road Thursday.
The Oilers also posted wins last week against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, teams that are well above .500.
“We’re up there with those good teams,” said Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who scored the game-winner in overtime against the Bruins. “That’s what you’ve got to take from this. We can compete with any team in the league.”
The Oilers surrendered the first two goals against Boston, but Zach Hyman got them on the scoreboard near the midway point of the second period before Connor McDavid tied it with 2:21 remaining in regulation.
“Sometimes, you have to grind it out and maybe get one (goal) a period, or maybe go to overtime,” Ekholm said.
Leon Draisaitl, 29, assisted on all three goals to give him 900 points for his NHL career in just 751 games. Only three other active players have reached that milestone quicker.
“It’s pretty incredible to be his age, and where he’s at in his age, and have 900 points,” Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “It’s an extremely hard thing to do and a hard thing to accomplish.”
The Sharks have been struggling to finish off recent games. They were just swept on a three-game homestand, despite leading in the third period of all three.
San Jose blew a 3-2 lead in a 4-3 loss to the Utah Hockey Club last Saturday, a 3-2 lead in a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, and a 2-1 lead against the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Thursday before losing 4-2.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. I would say it’s the biggest word,” Sharks first-year coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “It’s extremely frustrating, because we should be getting points, we should be winning some of these games, and we’re learning how to win. I know I sound like a broken record saying that, but I truly believe we’re going to start winning these games.”
Opposing coaches continue to be impressed by Sharks rookie forward Macklin Celebrini, who came into the Colorado game on a four-game point streak (three goals, four assists), but was kept off the scoresheet.
San Jose was also lifted by the secondary scoring it received against the Avalanche.
William Eklund ended a six-game goal drought by scoring on the third line, and Carl Grundstrom notched his first goal of the season while skating on the fourth line.
“We’re playing with some pretty good structure,” Warsofsky said. “Our effort’s pretty solid. Our competitiveness is there. I know it’s frustrating as a fan, trust me, we’re extremely frustrated in there, but I know our guys are working extremely hard to make this organization and the fans and the community really proud, and it’s going to get there one day.”
–Field Level Media
