The San Jose Sharks fell to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers tonight, putting a serious crimp in the Sharks’ hopes for a potential trip to the playoffs. McDavid did what big players do in games like these, he put the team on his back and carried them over the finish line. Number 97 factored into all five goals in the Oilers’ 5-2 win over the Sharks and registered a hat trick.
With the regulation win, the Oilers move into sole possession of the top spot in the Pacific Division. Meantime, the top Sharks’ margin of error just went away.
San Jose doesn’t have that game in hand anymore and currently trails the Nashville Predators by three points and the Los Angeles Kings by two points. That means the Sharks need to win out and get some luck. A win over the Predators later this week would certainly help.
Penalty kill hangs Nedeljkovic out to dry
In the game itself, there’s not a lot to write home about when it comes to how the Sharks played. While the team scored the first goal of the game, it came on the first shot for the Sharks. After that, the team failed to take care of the puck, something it’s done a lot of in recent games. At one point, there were seven turnovers to the team’s one shot on goal.
Backstopping all of this was Alex Nedeljkovic, who faced 26 shots tonight. The goaltender’s stats took a brutal hit that made it look like the loss was his fault, but in reality, most of the goals were because of giveaways that led to breakaways or allowing the best scorer in the world lead two-on-ones against you.
Ned ended the night with five goals against and 2.48 expected goals against. He faced seven high danger shots.
Disastrous defensive outing
The coaching staff made a change on defense for this game, opting to bring John Klingberg back into the lineup over the younger Shakir Mukhamadullin. Before the game, the explanation was, in part, that the Sharks wanted some more puck movement out of the defensive zone as well as an unspoken implication (as interpreted by San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng) that Mukhamadullin may not yet be a full-time defenseman.
That said, Klingberg’s addition to the lineup did not go as the Sharks might have hoped. Klingberg got time on the second unit of the power play and played a total of 17:27, the second most among Sharks’ defensemen at even strength. Nick Leddy played the most at even strength with 17:34.
Yet, Klingberg was middling on defense last night, according to HockeyStat Cards
NHL Game Score Impact Card for San Jose Sharks on 2026-04-08: pic.twitter.com/SoixuvGDJR
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 9, 2026
According to the stats, Vincent Desharnais and Dmitry Orlov were the best defensemen for the Sharks. Of course, the eyetest is sometimes needed as well because Orlov had issues of his own. He’s forced into a two on one with McDavid after a turnover by Sam Dickinson and it does not bounce the Sharks’ way.
MCDAVID BANKS IT IN OFF THE DEFENDER TO COMPLETE THE HATTY 🎩
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 9, 2026
HIS 5TH POINT OF THE NIGHT ALREADY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/AhltvOQq9F
While the turnover was not Orlov’s fault, you would have liked to see him play the pass better than that.
Highlight
Our highlight of the night is the goal by Kiefer Sherwood, if for no other reason than if the Sharks make the playoffs, and as of this tonight, that’s a big if, but if the team were to make the postseason, then goals like this are what they will need more of.
Kiefer Sherwood quickly answers to get the Sharks back within one ☝️
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 9, 2026
Watch Sharks vs. Oilers live on SNW and SN1 📺 pic.twitter.com/TlLHnEBJQy
Scoring summary Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks April 8, 2026
First Period
4:27 SJS Macklin Celebrini from Dmitry Orlov and Will Smith on the power play
6:18 EDM Connor McDavid from Evan Bouchard and Vasily Podkolzin on the power play
18:38 EDM Vadsily Podkolzin from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid on the power play
Second Period
3:33 EDM Jack Roslovic from Connor McDavid on the power play
4:37 SJS Kiefer Sherwood from Alex Wennberg and William Eklund
5:53 EDM Connor McDavid from Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm
14:13 EDM Connor McDavid from Jack Roslovic
Third Period
No Scoring
