SAN JOSE – Patrick Marleau’s power play goal at 12:31 into the third period earned the San Jose Sharks a 5-4 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oilers
The win gave San Jose 105 points, one point behind Anaheim in the scramble for the Pacific Division title. Anaheim, with two games in hand, hosts San Jose next Wednesday.
Edmonton and San Jose each brought one win in their last five games into Tuesday’s Pacific Division showdown.
The Oilers, settled into the bottom of the division, turned to their young scoring stars to keep up with the Sharks.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a 20-year-old center with 176 games of NHL experience, came through with a four-point night. The two goals and two assists left Nugent-Hopkins with 53 points for the season.
Jordan Eberle, 23, and Taylor Hall, 22, added goals for the Oilers.
The value of an offensive zone face-off win was evident in the Sharks’ five-goal effort. Three San Jose goals were tallied within eight seconds of a face-off.
That face-off efficiency helped San Jose snap a 4-4 tie. Defenseman Dan Boyle controlled the puck inside the Oiler blueline before slipping it to Brent Burns. Marleau was in position to turn a deflected shot into his 32nd goal of the year eight seconds into the power play.
San Jose’s Andrew Desjardins jammed home a short rebound of a Mike Brown shot to open the scoring 3:11 into the first period. When Hall whipped a long shot from the left circle inside the right post at 12:34, Hall joined David Perron atop the Oiler scoring list with his 26th goal of the year.
When coincidental minors left the teams at four skaters apiece, Joe Thornton keyed the go-ahead score for the home team. Thornton controlled the face-off, moving toward the left post before pulling the puck back to Boyle in the high slot. Boyle shot the puck into the top left corner of the net past goaltender Ben Scrivens at the 15:54 mark, four seconds after the face-off.
San Jose added a goal six seconds after an offensive zone face-off early in the second period. Brad Stuart’s long shot from the right slot was kicked back by Scrivens, but the puck settled near the goalline at the right post and Tommy Wingels nudged it into the netting for the 3-1 San Jose edge.
The Oilers responded with two goals in a 38-second span in the period. Nugent-Hopkins scored from atop the right circle against goalie Antti Niemi at 13:04. Eberle was credited with his 25th goal of the year when his pass from the right flank ricocheted off a Shark defenseman and into the let at 13:42.
Edmonton looked ready to steal a win when Nugent-Hopkins directed a shot past Niemi from the bottom of the left circle at 6:16 of the third. San Jose regrouped for the equalizer at 10:35, Thornton feeding Burns with a cross-crease pass that gave Burns his 22nd of the season.
The Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, then Nashville on Saturday. San Jose finishes the regular season next week with two road games sandwiched around Friday’s home date against the Colorado Avalanche.
