On a rare back-to-back at home, the San Jose Sharks made easy work of the Edmonton Oilers with a 7-2 win.
The opening period came with four goals total, the majority of which came from the Sharks, who put the puck past Cam Talbot three times in 20 minutes.
The first goal came on a lucky bounce, which is a representation of how well things are going for the Sharks. Everything seems to be going the Sharks’ way, even the lucky breaks. On the second goal, it was Marcus Sorensen creating a breakaway opportunity that he was hooked on, result a penalty shot where he made the Oilers pay.
After Alex Chiasson scored to make it 2-1 Oilers, the Sharks’ hottest line struck towards the end of the period. Joonas Donskoi scored his sixth goal in six games to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission.
During the second period, the Sharks tacked on two more goals. Another lucky bounce wenr the Sharks’ way when Brent Burns’ shot went off Evander Kane’s skate and into the ner. As a result, the Oilers made a goalie change, ending Talbot’s night and sending in Mikko Koskinen.
The Oilers did cut the Sharks’ lead in half again, courtesy of a Milan Lucic goal, so the goalie change did wake up the Oilers, even if briefly. Their resurgence didn’t last long and few minutes later, the Sharks struck again, this time on the power play. After getting a lucky assist off the Kane goal, Burns decided to get in on the goal scoring act, going top-shelf to beat Koskinen and give the Sharks a 5-2 lead before the end of the period.
In the third period, the Sharks added two more goals. A third lucky bounce pulled them ahead when Joe Thornton’s shot went off an Oilers’ skate and into the net. The second goal came from the red hot Donskoi, who adds to his hot streak of seven goals in six games. Erik Karlsson also collected his third assist of the night for his second consecutive three-assist performance.
A strong homestand and a perfect record in 2019, the Sharks will look to carry this momentum into Las Vegas. The Vegas Golden Knights sit second place in the Pacific Division and the Sharks will hope to close in on them Thursday night.
Pregame
The San Jose Sharks are looking to make it a four-game winning streak tonight as they host the Edmonton Oilers.
With three assists last night, Erik Karlsson stole the show in the Sharks’ win over the Los Angeles Kings, marking his 13th consecutive appearance with at least one point. For anyone who had doubts that Karlsson was having a down year, his recent form is indicating that he remains one of the best defensemen in the National Hockey League.
Karlsson isn’t the only Shark riding a hot streak into tonight’s game against the Oilers. The trio of Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi continues to impress offensively over the last five games.
Meanwhile, the Oilers are free falling in the Pacific Division standings. A coaching change was supposed to kick start a run into one of the three guaranteed playoff spots in the division, but instead, the team remains floundering on the outside looking in. With only three wins in their last ten games, the Oilers have seen the seemingly-tanking-on-purpose Vancouver Canucks top them in the standings.
Lines
No official word, but it appears as though there will be no changes from last night, with Pete DeBoer sending out the same lines and pairings. The only significant difference could be in net, as Aaron Dell might get a chance in net on the back-to-back. However, they could go with Jones instead since there was no travel involved.
There are some gametime decisions so consider this a potential #SJSharks lineup for tonight.
🗒: https://t.co/GayGZZBWk7 pic.twitter.com/vYhDBcgoIP
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 8, 2019
As for the Oilers, here are their lines from practice this afternoon. It looks as though Cam Talbot will start in net tonight.
Oilers at SJ:
Khaira-McDavid-Kassian
Lucic-RNH-Puljujarvi
Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson
Spooner-Brodziak-RattieJones-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Gravel-PetrovicTalbot starts…Yamamoto (back on the ice), Manning, Benning, & Gambardella extras.
— Jack Michaels (@EdmontonJack) January 8, 2019
Where to Watch
Puck drop from SAP Center will be at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET. Television coverage will be on NBC Sports California while 98.5 KFOX will have the radio call. Check back then for updates and live reactions.
Hey everyone! Eddie here on back-to-back nights with you all for tonight’s liveblog.
First Period
20:00: Let’s drop the puck and make it four wins in a row!
17:10: Aaron Dell with the save on the Oilers’ first scoring chance.
15:57: Erik Karlsson with two shots on Cam Talbot, but no dice.
13:24: GOAL! A lucky bounce from the red hot line! Goal is credited to Evander Kane and Karlsson with another assist. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, as they say.
9:19: Joe Pavelski with a scoring chance at the door step of the Oilers net, but Talbot denies him.
7:26: Timo Meier tries to go five-hole.
7:03: Penalty shot for Sorensen!
7:03: GOAL! Sorensen scores on the penalty shot and it’s 2-0, Sharks!
6:26: Penalty. Tim Heed heads to the penalty box.
5:25: Goal. Alex Chiasson scores off a Connor McDavid pass, it’s 2-1 Sharks
4:31: GOAL! Joonas Donski scores his sixth goal in six games to make it 3-1 Sharks.
3:41: Power Play. Sharks head to the man-advantage.
1:41: Oilers are able to kill the penalty.
Second Period
17:19: Penalty. Joakim Ryan heads to the box for delay of game.
16:40: The Oilers shot goes off the goal post and the Sharks catch a break.
15:19: The penalty to the Sharks is over and they head to the power play.
14:05: Sharks power play is over and everyone is at full strength.
13:29: GOAL! Another lucky bounce. Brent Burns’ shot goes off Evander Kane’s skate and in.
13:28: Oilers will make a goalie change. Mikko Koskinen is now in met for Edmonton.
9:42: Goal. Milan Lucic helps cut the Sharks’ lead, going back door to beat Aaron Dell and it’s 4-2, Sharks.
8:27: Penalty. Sharks head to the box and a power play for the Oilers.
6:27: Sharks kill the penalty.
6:04: Power Play. Sorensen draws a holding penalty on Kris Russell.
4:21: GOAL! Burns goes top-shelf where momma hides the cookies and it’s 5-2, Sharks!
Third Period
19:35: Oilers are arguing for a delay of game call, but to no avail.
18:57: GOAL! Some nifty passing leads to yet another lucky bounce, as the puck goes off an Oiler and into the net.
10:46: Some passing in the Sharks’ end leads to a Heed shot, but it can’t beat Koskinen.
9:16: GOAL! Joonas Donskoi jumps on the loose puck to score his second of the night and make it 7-2, Sharks.
7:55: Radim Simek denies Ryan Nugent-Hopkins a breakaway opportunity.
5:28: Another scoring chance for Donskoi, but Koskinen denies him the hat trick.
4:15: Simek with an open net, but fans on the one-time shot.
Final: Sharks 7, Oilers 2
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