OILERS EMERGE UNSCATHED IN OT WIN OVER SAN JOSE
Game 81 wasn’t pretty, but Edmonton achieved its main goal — no one got hurt
Whether Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks went down as a win or a loss had absolutely nothing to do with the scoreboard.
Which team scored more goals in a meaningless 81st game of the season, with home ice in the first round of the playoffs already secured, was irrelevant.
The only thing that mattered for the Edmonton Oilers was to come out of this game unscathed. With defenceman Darnell Nurse already questionable for the series opener against Los Angeles, the last thing they need is for somebody else to get hurt.
In the end, the Oilers scored a victory on all fronts, beating the Sharks 5-4 in overtime with no calls to action for the medical staff, although Zack Kassian had to go in for repairs after being high-sticked late in the third.
Edmonton fell behind 2-0 before the anthem singer was even off the ice, but a team that went 17-4-2 down the stretch fought its way back and got to get to extra time, where Zach Hyman’s goal improved their home-ice record to 13-0-1 in the last 14 games.
Goaltender Mikko Koskinen, who could still play a role in the playoffs for Edmonton, depending on the schedule and how Mike Smith stands up to the workload, had a rough start, giving up two San Jose goals to Noah Gregor in the first 3:08 of the game.
The 23-year-old from Beaumont picked the far side of the net on the first one and added another one by banking a centring pass off Evan Bouchard’s skate 26 seconds later.
Koskinen was a monster for Edmonton when Smith was hurt, going 13-3-2 to keep their season alive, but spent a lot of the night on an island. By the nine-minute mark of the first period the Sharks were up 2-0 and Edmonton didn’t even have a shot on net.
If nothing else, the 2-0 hole after 20 minutes allowed Edmonton to practice fighting back from adversity and an early deficit.
They started down that road when Ryan Mcleod scored from the second unit power play at
9:14 to cut the Sharks’ lead to
2-1. Then Kailer Yamamoto, who assisted on the Mcleod goal, tied it up four minutes later with his 20th of the season.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, a power play goal from Scott Reedy gave San Jose the lead back at 15:35.
With the shots 34-19 San Jose after 40 minutes, there was no question which team was having the better of things.
The third period erupted into some offensive fireworks, with Edmonton fighting back to tie it on a Derek Ryan deflection at 9:37, the Sharks making it 4-3 at 10:40 and Broberg tying it again at 11:45.
The Oilers have one more commitment left in their regular season schedule, Friday against the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Who does or doesn’t play in that game for Edmonton will about the only drama involved.
Whether to sit some players to avoid injury or play them so they don’t get cold is an annual debate that has valid points on both sides, but head coach Jay Woodcroft ducked all of the pre-game questions Thursday regarding whether he should or shouldn’t be resting guys in advance of the post-season.
His players weren’t afraid to address the issue, though. They want to keep pushing.
“I like to keep on the same page,” said Ryan Nugent-hopkins. “We’ll have a couple of days at least from Friday to whenever (the playoffs) start. You have a few days to get your body and your mind in order and then you get going again.
“We still want to keep pushing and building our game individually and as a team and even ramp up the intensity a little bit. Whether it’s Monday or Tuesday, you have to be 100 per cent in. You have to be full bore by then.”
Linemate Derek Ryan agrees. He’s been on teams that coasted to the finish line before in Calgary and says it can set teams up for a rude awakening when it’s time to hit the gas in Round 1.
“I’m sure every guy is different, but rest is not what I would prefer,” he said. “It’s not how you want to go into the playoffs. It’s not a light switch. You can’t turn it off for a couple of games and expect to turn it on for Game 1 of playoffs. It’s just not how playoff hockey works.”
Winger Jesse Puljujarvi returned after missing three games with an illness and replaced Yamamoto on the first line with Connor Mcdavid and Evander Kane.
After putting up nine points in the previous three games, Mcdavid could have used a few more to put an exclamation point on his case for the Hart Trophy. He finished the game with one assist. He will still lock up his fourth Art Ross Trophy, joining Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe as the only players to win four at the age 25.