Fernando Pisani’s breakaway goal 3:33 into the third period
propelled the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose
Sharks at sold-out HP Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – Fernando Pisani’s breakaway goal 3:33 into the third period propelled the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at sold-out HP Pavilion.
San Jose, 6-3-1 in the past 10 games, begins an eight-game road trip Sunday in New York against the Rangers. The next Sharks home date is March 3 opposite Montreal.
Despite the setback, San Jose remained five points out of first place in the Pacific Division because pace-setter Dallas dropped a 5-2 decision to Phoenix. San Jose (70 points) has played 57 games, while both Dallas (75) and Anaheim (71) have played
61.
Edmonton won for the fourth time in five tries, reaching 59 points and 12th in the Western Conference.
Edmonton brought a 2-1 lead into the third period, then made it 3-1 when Pisani took advantage of a Sharks turnover in the Oiler zone that led to the breakaway.
Shark defenseman Christian Ehrhoff tried to make a pass from the Oiler blueline but the puck chipped off Oiler forward Andrew Cogliano and into the neutral zone. Shark Kyle McLaren failed to stop Pisani as the Oiler sped past the defense, into the open and on the way to the crisp snapshot inside the right post.
Mike Grier responded with a short-handed goal at 8:34 that left it 3-2 Edmonton.
San Jose’s Craig Rivet lofted the puck out of the Shark zone and onto the stick of Grier. The Shark snapped a shot under the pads of goalie Mathieu Garon from 20 feet out for his second short-hander of the season.
The teams struggled through a scoreless first period, although each side had substantial time with a 5-on-3 power play.
Edmonton had the two-man advantage for a full two minutes when Sandis Ozolinsh and Milan Michalek each caused a minor penalty at the 4:47 mark. Mike Grier keyed the Sharks defense that left the Oilers without a strong scoring chance.
San Jose earned a two-man advantage for 1:42 on a Kyle Brodziak hooking call and a delay by Ladislav Smid. The Sharks mustered just one shot during the power play.
The teams came back for the second period and produced three goals in a 20-shot combined effort.
Edmonton appeared to take control of the contest with the game’s first two goals.
The visitors took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal 1:31 into the period. As San Jose’s Jody Shelley sat in the penalty box with 11 seconds left in the minor penalty, Ales Hemsky scored his 15th goal of the season. Linemate Dustin Penner began the scoring play with a slapshot from the right flank that bounded off goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Rookie Sam Gagner kept the play alive by sliding the puck toward the net. Hemsky, at the left post, redirected the puck behind Nabokov.
Brodziak netted his ninth goal of the campaign at the 9:33 mark for a 2-0 Oiler cushion.
Curtis Glencross lifted a pass from behind the Shark net to winger Zach Stortini. The forward’s soft shot was kicked back by Nabokov toward the left circle. Brodziak was able to settle the puck with his left skate, then position to drive the puck past Nabokov from 10 feet out.
The Sharks cut the deficit in half at 16:43.One of 14 shots on net for the period, Joe Pavelski’s follow shot after a Marc-Eduoard Vlasic offering beat Garon. Michalek earned the secondary assist.
