Loss drops S.J. behind Edmonton
EDMONTON, Alberta — With their first playoff berth in more than a decade already secured, the Oilers now seem to have their sights set even higher.
Patrick Maroon scored twice and streaking Edmonton took over sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division with a 3-2 victory over the Sharks on Thursday night.
“This is playoffs for us. We are going to be playing these teams eventually, whether it is the first round, second round, third round, whatever,” Maroon said.
“We have to continue to be in their face and try to find ways to win and make them not want to come here and play us. That is what we are set up to do. We want to make them scared and make sure they know that we are a good hockey team.”
Connor McDavid had a goal and Cam Talbot made 38 saves for the Oilers, who have won four in a row and eight of nine to move one point back of first-place Anaheim.
“You want to play these games heading into the playoffs,” McDavid said. “Those meaningful games. We’re ramping it up, and we feel pretty good about our game right now. It’s a good time to be an Oiler.”
Jannik Hansen and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and dropped to third place in the Pacific.
“We’re obviously getting closer to the playoffs here.,” Hansen said. “We need to have our game in the right spot. The last two games have been a whole lot better than the previous six.”
San Jose didn’t take long to get on the scoreboard, as Hansen chipped a rebound over Talbot just 61 seconds into the game.
Edmonton tied it midway through the first period when McDavid made a perfect pass to give Maroon a wide-open net behind Sharks goalie Martin Jones.
With assists on the play, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl extended their point streaks to nine games apiece, and McDavid became the first player in the NHL to reach 90 points this season.
McDavid added to his total on a shorthanded goal with 2:32 left in the first period, dancing past Patrick Marleau and beating Jones with a backhand for his 28th of the season.
The Oilers went up 3-1 eight minutes into the third period when Maroon tipped Kris Russell’s shot past Jones for his 27th goal.