Oilers tie series as Sharks waste six chances with man advantage
EDMONTON, Alberta — The Sharks were handed one power-play opportunity after another Friday night as the Edmonton Oilers repeatedly put themselves down a man with a handful of reckless plays.
Not only did the Sharks not capitalize, but also their time with the man advantage in Game 2 did more harm than good.
Zack Kassian and Connor McDavid both scored shorthanded goals, helping the Oilers earn a rough-and-tumble 2-0 win over the Sharks to level the opening-round series at one win apiece.
The Sharks finished the game 0 for 6 with the man advantage and didn’t generate much at even strength as they wasted a solid performance from goalie Martin Jones, who finished with 34 saves.
Eight of Jones’ saves came on the penalty kill, one of the few bright spots for the Sharks
as they killed all four Oilers power plays.
“I think our power play mimicked our 5-on-5 game,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We didn’t outwork their penalty kill, and I think that was the same 5-on-5. They were the better team, we were the better team the other night. This isn’t going to be a short series.”
The Sharks were outshot 36-16 for the game as Oilers goalie Cam Talbot earned the shutout. Game 3 is Sunday night in San Jose as the series now turns into a best-of-five.
“Get the split, that’s what you want,” said Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, who had two shots on goal and three blocked. “We know we’ve got better games. Go back and just play our game.”
On Kassian’s goal, Brent Burns had left the puck for Joe Pavelski near the Oilers blue line. Pavelski lost control of it and chipped it to Mark Letestu, who found a streaking Kassian. He skated toward Jones and buried a wrist shot for the game’s opening goal just 42 seconds into the second period.
The Sharks’ first power play came after a cross checking call on Oilers winger Patrick Maroon, who leveled Marc-Edouard Vlasic in front of the Edmonton net with 45 seconds to go in the first period.
“That was the story of our power play,” Pavelski said.
McDavid’s goal came at the 10:31 mark of the third period, as he picked up loose puck in his own end, streaked up the wall and beat Jones for his first career playoff goal. McDavid’s goal came with Milan Lucic in the box for highsticking.
It was obvious the Oilers wanted continue the physical play they displayed at times in Game 1. Through two periods, Edmonton had been credited with 33 hits to the Sharks’ 10.
Among the hits, Logan Couture was leveled by Kassian with 7:20 to go in the second period, sending the sold-out Rogers Place crowd into a state of delirium.
But the physical play also made the Oilers have to kill more penalties than they wanted. Kassian was called for roughing at the 13:04 mark of the first period, and Maroon was given an elbowing penalty 7:02 into the second period.
The Sharks were unable to take advantage, continuing a season-long power malaise.
The Sharks’ power play finished the regular season ranked 25th in the NHL at just 16.7 percent, one of the team’s worst percentages over the past 15 years.
“It’s the playoffs, it’s physical stuff,” DeBoer said. “I thought the refs did a good job. They called it, and we have to make them pay for taking liberties.
“We didn’t, and that’s got to get fixed going forward. But I like our chances if they’re going to take six, seven penalties a night.”
In their playoff opener Wednesday without Joe Thornton, the Sharks went 1 for 6 with the man advantage, with Joel Ward scoring their only goal.
Thornton appears to be making progress from a left knee injury he suffered on April 2, but he remained out of the lineup Friday with still no clear idea on when he’ll return.
The Oilers played at their usual fast tempo when they were at even strength in the second period when they outshot the Sharks 126 to keep momentum.
Jones made nine saves in the first period, stopping a pair of quality chances by Maroon on the Oilers’ first power play, and later saving a shot by Jordan Eberle on a shot from the slot.