Edmonton delves into Shark Tank

Edmonton Oilers vs San José Sharks 2-3 (0-1, 1-1, 1-1)

Edmonton made some line changes before this game, though they kept Jonas Hiller in net. Gilbert Brule and Anton Axelsson made up the third line along with mainstay Greg Moore, while Moreau and Falardeau were joined by Ryan Stone on the fourth line. In addition, head coach Kevin Constantine had claimed that Brule was to be given more ice time on the power play in the coming games, to ignite his offensive game again. The Sharks were 15-9-4 and in 6th place a mere 2 points behind the Oilers coming into this match.

Both Edmonton and San José displayed some quality passing plays during the first, but despite the fine puck movement, few solid chances came of it - mainly due to a lack of net presence from either side. Apart from a late goal by Joe Pavelski, the highlight of the period was Kris Newbury's extended fight with bruiser Nolan Yonkman, which the latter arguably won.

The finesse game was shelved in the second, and out came the desperation. More penalties, blocked shots and hits followed. Jamal Mayers scored an ugly goal from a bad angle seven minutes into the period, hurting the Oilers who had been piling up the pressure until that point. That, however, spurred Dustin Penner on, seemingly, as he tractored his way through the defense with the puck on his blade, going left-right-left on Gustavsson scoring a beauty.

Edmonton kept digging holes for themselves, which the Sharks filled with goals - Kris Newbury had recovered from Yonkman's punches and allowed himself to take advantage of a turnover and scored the 3-1 goal. The resilient Oilers battled back, with Ales Hemsky adding a power play goal some minutes before full time, but the game faded out in the Sharks' favour.

Post game: There was little offensive sting in Edmonton, partly maybe to new line combinations, but mostly it can be attributed to a lack of effort. The Oilers lost the majority of face offs, board plays and threw significantly less hits than their opponent. "A symphony of mediocrity" was head coach Constantine's summary, "there simply was no brass nor percussion". Edmonton simpy allowed defeat to occur.


Scoreboard
1st Period:
SJS - Pavelski (Johnson, Abdelkader)

2nd Period:
SJS - Mayers (Thornton)
EDM - Penner (Stone, Falardeau)

3rd Period:
SJS - Newbury (Mayers, Vlasic)
EDM - Hemsky (O'Sullivan, Gagner) PP


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - O'Sullivan
Axelsson - Brule - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - Stone

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Hiller
(Khabibulin)