SAN JOSE –
Patrick Marleau’s power-play goal 6:11 into the third period lifted
the San Jose Sharks past the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 and into first
place in the Pacific Division.
San
Jose has 37 points after 30 games, while idle Dallas has 37 points
in 31 games. The other three teams in the division lost games
Saturday.
Marleau’s
12th goal of the season came off Joe Pavelski’s
12th assist as the Sharks needed 12 seconds to convert
the power play called when Theo Peckham of the Oilers was guilty of
interference at 5:59.
San
Jose won the offensive-zone face-off and Jamie McGinn advanced the
puck behind the Oiler net. Pavelski received the puck and began a
wrap-around near the left post. The puck slid toward the other side
of the slot where Marleau netted the game-winner with a
one-timer.
The Sharks
finished with a 37-25 edge in shots on net. Two injuries left the
hosts playing short-handed. Marty Havlat injured his right ankle,
Colin White his left wrist during the third period.
The Sharks play
twice at home prior to Christmas, Wednesday against Tampa Bay and
Friday opposite Los Angeles. The homestand concludes the following
week with games against Anaheim Monday and Vancouver
Wednesday.
Both clubs had
earned three wins in the past 10 games entering Saturday’s play.
The first two periods showed comparative balance, producing a 1-1
tie after one and 2-2 tie after two periods.
A penalty-free
first 20 minutes produced nine shots apiece from the
teams.
Edmonton was guilty of a poor line
change that led to San Jose’s first goal at the 8:36 mark. After
Ben Eager, the former Shark, sent the puck past the redline and
joined his two linemates to the bench, Shark Dan Boyle quickly
collected the puck and sent it to a waiting Havlat at the Oiler
blueline. Havlat and Michal Handzus attacked the net on a 2-on-0
break. Havlat dished to Handzus, then went to the right post for
the return pass and stuff shot behind a defenseless goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin.
Jordan Eberle,
the 21-year-old Oiler playing in his 101st NHL game,
netted the equalizer at 17:16. Eberle controlled the puck on the
left boards in the San Jose zone and raced around the defensive
effort of White. Eberle skated across the low slot and jammed the
puck past goaltender Antti Niemi.
Ryan Jones gave
the Oilers a 2-1 edge at 5:28 of the second period with a
short-handed goal. Jason Demers’ drop pass back to Havlat was
fumbled before Jones made the Sharks pay for the turnover with a
breakaway goal inside the left post from 15 feet out.
Captain Joe
Thornton moved to the top of the Sharks’ scoring chart 14:33 into
the second when he turned Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s feed into a
point-blank goal for his 26th point of the
year.
