Hertl’s 2 goals spark win in OT
EDMONTON, Alberta — Every time the Sharks fell behind Wednesday, they fought right back.
Tomas Hertl had two goals, including the game-winner 2:40 into overtime, and San Jose came back on three occasions to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Oilers.
Drake Caggiula, Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the goals for the Oilers, who lost their second in a row.
“The mentality all year has just been to stick with it,” said defenseman Brenden Dillon, who had a goal for San Jose. “A big thing for us that we can kind of lean on is that we are a never-quit team and we were able to come back as the game went on.”
Logan Couture also scored and added two assists for the Sharks, who have won two straight. San Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of Los Angeles and Anaheim with 12 games remaining.
“We are all watching the standings and there is not much room for error right now,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “It is tight. We knew how important the points were tonight and it was a great job of the guys continuing to battle back. It was nice to get that extra point in overtime. It is really big for us right now.”
Edmonton took a 3-2 lead early in the third when Nugent-Hopkins tipped in Klefbom’s shot.
San Jose, which had erased deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, evened it yet again nine minutes into the third on a long shot through traffic by Dillon.
“I thought we got a little bit tired at the end,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said. “Some guys have played a lot of hockey in the last few days and it showed a little bit at the end.”