SAN JOSE
– A power-play goal 2:40 into overtime gave the Edmonton Oilers
a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, depriving the hosts of a tenth
consecutive victory in front of another sold-out crowd at HP
Pavilion.
SAN JOSE – A power-play goal 2:40 into overtime gave the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, depriving the hosts of a tenth consecutive victory in front of another sold-out crowd at HP Pavilion.
San Jose must settle for one point for forcing the overtime session, leaving the Sharks with a 22-3-2 mark worth 46 points heading into this week’s home games against Anaheim and St. Louis.
“The effort was pretty good,” said San Jose coach Todd McLellan. “We got beat by a pretty good goalie.”
Kyle Broziak’s pass from 10 feet off the right flank skimmed against the left skate of San Jose defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and into the goal past goalie Evgeni Nabokov. The Oilers (13-11-2) were only able to muster 17 shots on net, compared to San Jose’s 43, but made the most of them.
Edmonton’s only shot of the first period produced the game’s first goal. Alex Hemsky skated with the puck into the high slot and wrested a hard shot past a screened Nabokov at the 8:50 mark.
“That was a tremendous shot,” said McLellan. “Off the cross-bar and in.”
San Jose produced the equalizer with 5.5 seconds left in the first period.
After Dustin Penner earned a four-minute high-sticking penalty 17:29 into play, Dan Boyle converted the extra-man situation when he fired a shot on net from the right corner of the Oiler zone that bounded off the pad of goalie Dwayne Roloson and into the net.
“There were very few seconds left and I just threw it at the net,” said Boyle, the NHL’s second-leading scorer among defensemen with 24 points. “I knew there were two players near the net, but the puck hit the goalie and went in.”
Both teams registered one goal in the second period, San Jose taking the 2-1 edge at 8:01 on Jeremy Roenick’s 512th career goal.
Linemates Jody Shelley and Tom Cavanagh took turns poking at the puck at the front of the Oiler crease before Cavanagh slid the puck to an unmarked Roenick for a quick backhander over Roloson.
The Oilers squared it at 2-2 with a power-play goal. Sheldon Souray’s hard shot from the top of the slot tipped off teammate Penner and past Nabokov. Penner’s seventh of the season came with 30.9 seconds left in the second.
San Jose produced a 12-5 edge in shots in the scoreless third period.
Patrick Marleau was sent to the box for hooking 1:10 into the extra session. Brodniak took a pass from Shawn Horcoff near the bottom of the right-wing circle. As Horcoff tried to pass to Tom Gilbert at the left circle, the cross-ice pass deflected off Ehrhoff and by Nabokov for the game-winner.
“A bad bounce,” said Ehrhoff. “I was trying to take away the cross-ice pass and it hit on the toe of my skate.”
After hosting Anaheim Thursday and St. Louis Saturday, the Sharks open a three-game roadtrip in Los Angeles on Monday Dec. 15.
