Oilers eliminate Sharks with 3-1 win
SAN JOSE (AP) – Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev scored on breakaways in the opening minutes of the second period and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the second round of the playoffs with 3-1 victory in Game 6 over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night.
Draisaitl and Slepyshev each buried their first career playoff goals and the Oilers held off the Sharks to get the win in their first playoff series since getting to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. Connor McDavid iced the game with an empty- net goal with less than a second to play.
Patrick Marleau got the Sharks on the board with 7:48 left in the third period, but Cam Talbot didn’t allow anything else on 28 shots.
Edmonton will take a young roster led by NHL scoring leader McDavid and eight other skaters under the age of 25 into the second round against Anaheim.
The defending Western Conference champion Sharks had a quick exit this year in the playoffs as they never fully recovered after blowing a two-goal lead in Game 5 in Edmonton.