Game 1 - Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - Sharks Win 3-2 OT
The San Jose Sharks demonstrated experience is a factor, battling back from down two goals for a 3-2 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place. Melker Karlsson beat goalie Cam Talbot at 3:22 of overtime off a pass from Joe Pavelski to give San Jose the win. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Friday in Edmonton. Oscar Klefbom and Milan Lucic scored for the Oilers, who were playing their first Stanley Cup Playoff game in 11 years. Talbot made 41 saves. Joel Ward and defenseman Paul Martin scored, and Martin Jones made 17 saves for the Sharks, who lost the 2016 Stanley Cup Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The Sharks roster had played a total of 1,169 NHL postseason games compared to the Oilers' 342 entering the series. Klefbom scored at 6:44 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. The defenseman received a cross-ice pass from Jordan Eberle, and his shot from the left faceoff circle hit San Jose defenseman David Schlemko, changed direction, and slid underneath Jones.
Lucic put the Oilers up 2-0 on the power play with 2:53 left in the first when he scored off the rebound of a Mark Letestu shot. The Sharks began to battle back in the second period, when they outshot the Oilers 10-4. San Jose started the period on the power play, and then was awarded two more. Ward got the Sharks within 2-1 on the power play at 1:43. Joonas Donskoi attempted a wraparound, and the puck slid to Ward at the other side of the net for a shot past Talbot. Martin tied the game 2-2 at 5:22 of the third period at 4-on-4. Oilers forward Patrick Maroon and Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic each was serving a roughing penalty. San Jose outshot Edmonton 18-3 in the third and 6-2 in overtime.
* Talbot came out of his crease and made a right-pad save on Brent Burns at the bottom of the left circle at 3:42 of the second period.
* Oilers defenseman Kris Russell had a game-high six blocked shots and played 6:08 of the 11:58 Edmonton was shorthanded.
* Sharks center Joe Thornton did not play because of a knee injury. … Vlasic had two assists. ... Oilers defensemen Adam Larsson and Eric Gryba each had eight hits. ... With an assist on Lucic's goal, McDavid has at least a point in 15 straight games going back to the regular season.
"We played a solid game, pretty good defensively. We got the chance and I snuck it in. I got a little space and [Pavelski] saw me in the middle. It was a half-breakaway. It was nice." Karlsson said.
"It was a big win, we came back so strong. The reason we went so far last year is because we kept coming back in the second and third periods. We just keep going. We have a deep team. If we keep playing this same way, we will win the next game here too." Tomas Hertl said.
Game 2 - Friday, April 14, 2017 - Sharks Lose 0-2
Connor McDavid and Zack Kassian each scored a shorthanded goal to help the Edmonton Oilers to a 2-0 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 2 of their Western Conference First Round series at Rogers Place. Cam Talbot made 16 saves for the Oilers, who tied the best-of-7 series 1-1 with their first postseason win since Game 6 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
It was Talbot's first NHL playoff shutout. Kassian scored on a breakaway 42 seconds into the second period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. Sharks center Joe Pavelski lost control of the puck at the Oilers blue line on the power play, and Mark Letestu sent Kassian in alone against Jones with a pass in the neutral zone. Kassian had six hits, including a big one in open ice on Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon at 7:54 of the first period and another on Logan Couture along the boards at 12:44 of the second. San Jose was 0-for-6 on the power play, and Edmonton was 0-for-4. McDavid scored his first NHL playoff goal at 10:31 of the second to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead. The goal extended McDavid's point streak to 16 games dating back to the regular season (March 14).
* Pavelski had a second chance after he accidentally put the puck on Kassian's stick with San Jose on the power play, but he played it to Letestu while Kassian was skating past him. Letestu passed ahead to Kassian, who calmly skated in on Jones and beat him from between the hash marks to open the scoring.
* Jones came out to challenge Letestu and was able to freeze the puck after stopping his slap shot from the left circle with his chest at 4:32 of the third period.
* McDavid collected a loose puck in the Oilers zone, raced down the left wing, and shot the puck between Jones' pads from the top of the left faceoff circle.
* Edmonton defenseman Oscar Klefbom left the game after blocking a Patrick Marleau shot at 8:56 of the third period. ... McDavid, at 20 years, 91 days, is the youngest Oilers player to score in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Martin Gelinas (19 years, 319 days) in Game 2 of the Smythe Division Final against the Los Angeles Kings on April 20, 1990, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... It was the first time Edmonton scored two shorthanded goals in a postseason game since Game 4 of the Smythe Division Final against the Calgary Flames on April 24, 1986 (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri).
"Scoring on our power play would have been nice. We just need to work through it. It is frustrating, obviously. We need to communicate better and help each other. We need to get better there. That was the difference in the game, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out." Brent Burns said.
Game 3 - Sunday, April 16, 2017 - Sharks Lose 0-1
For the second straight game, Cam Talbot earned a shutout and Zack Kassian scored the winning goal for the Edmonton Oilers. Talbot made 23 saves, and Kassian scored at 10:45 of the third period to lift the Oilers to a 1-0 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at SAP Center. Kassian intercepted Sharks defenseman David Schlemko's errant pass from below the goal line and beat goalie Martin Jones from the slot. Kassian scored a shorthanded goal in the second period of Edmonton's 2-0 win in Game 2 on Friday. The Sharks pulled Jones with 1:47 remaining, but they had only one shot on goal with the extra attacker. San Jose's Joe Thornton was in the lineup for the first time since injuring his left knee April 2 against the Vancouver Canucks. He played center on the top line between Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson. Thornton had two shots on goal in the first period, when the Sharks outshot the Oilers 13-6 and outhit them 32-14. Edmonton controlled play for much of the second period, outshooting San Jose 12-4 and outhitting them 17-13. Early in the second, Oilers coach Todd McLellan, looking for a spark, shuffled his lines, moving Anton Slepyshev from the fourth line to the top line, in place of Leon Draisaitl, to skate with Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon. Draisaitl dropped to the third line with Kassian and Drake Caggiula. McDavid had his first two shots on goal, both good chances, late in the second.
* Schlemko tried to hit forward Tomas Hertl with a breakout pass, but Kassian picked it off in the right faceoff circle and beat Jones with a backhand through the five-hole. "I saw he was looking for a long pass and I just tried to get in the way," Kassian said.
* Talbot made a right-pad save on rookie forward Timo Meier's wrist shot through traffic from above the right circle with 3:10 remaining.
* McDavid was held without a point for the first time in 17 games dating to the regular season, but he brought some excitement when he skated past San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, zipped behind the net, and tried to score on a wraparound at 15:49 of the second period.
* Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker was scratched to make room for Thornton in the lineup. ... Couture wore his regular visor Sunday after using a full cage the first two games of the series to protect an injury he sustained March 25 when hit by a puck in his mouth against the Nashville Predators. ... Defenseman Oscar Klefbom, who sustained a bone bruise in his left foot blocking a Brent Burns shot late in Game 2, played an Oilers-high 24:44.
"We didn't generate enough Grade A chances. We had the puck in their zone, but we got stuck in corners and they swarmed pretty good. They block shots. We've got to find a way to create more offense." Logan Couture said.
"Early on, we had some pep. One-goal game that could go [either] way. We have another level to go to the next game." Thornton said.
Game 4 - Tuesday, April 18, 2017 - Sharks Win 7-0
The San Jose Sharks had been shut out by the Edmonton Oilers in back-to-back games entering Game 4 of their Western Conference First Round series at SAP Center. It took Joe Pavelski 15 seconds to give San Jose a 1-0 lead, and the Sharks kept scoring on their way to a 7-0 victory against the Oilers. Pavelski and Logan Couture each scored two goals, and Martin Jones made 23 saves for the fourth Stanley Cup Playoff shutout of his career, the previous three coming last season in San Jose's run to the Final. The Sharks tied their postseason record for most goals in a game and set their record with four power-play goals in eight opportunities. Patrick Marleau, Marcus Sorensen and David Schlemko each scored, and Brent Burns had three assists for San Jose. Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot made saves on all 39 shots he faced in Games 2 and 3 but gave up five goals on 24 shots Tuesday and was replaced by Laurent Brossoit at 12:52 of the second period. Pavelski gave the Sharks the early lead when he redirected Justin Braun's shot past Talbot for his first goal of the playoffs. It was the first time San Jose opened the scoring in the series.
San Jose increased their lead to 2-0 on a power-play goal by Couture at 11:02 of the first. It was his first goal of the series. Marleau made it 3-0 at 2:02 of the second period when he scored his first goal of the series, also on the power play. Sorensen knocked a rebound past Talbot from close range for his first goal of the series, extending San Jose's lead to 4-0 at 9:46 of the second. Couture scored his second goal of the game at 12:52 of the second on a snap shot from the right faceoff circle to make it 5-0. The Sharks went on their fourth power play of the game at 13:44 of the second when Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Chris Tierney, who went to the locker room in pain but returned for the third period. Pavelski tipped in a Burns shot for his second goal of the game at 16:46 of the second to make it 6-0, and Schlemko scored a power-play goal at 6:45 of the third period.
* Pavelski went to the slot after winning a faceoff against Connor McDavid and got his stick on Braun's wrist shot from the right point for San Jose's first goal since Melker Karlsson scored 3:22 into overtime in Game 1.
* Jones made 12 saves in the first period, including with 7:04 left and the Oilers on the power play when he got his left pad on Mark Letestu's redirection from the slot.
* The Sharks entered the game with one power-play goal in 14 chances, but Couture took a cross-ice pass from Pavelski and beat Talbot from the right circle on San Jose's first man-advantage opportunity of the game.
* The Sharks scored seven goals April 30, 1999, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Colorado Avalanche and April 20, 2014, in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings. … San Jose forward Mikkel Boedker was scratched for the second straight game.
"A lot of times with players looking for answers, it's as simple as that. Come in and shuffle the deck and start fresh [on playing Patrick Marleau on the top line with Pavelski and center Joe Thornton, among other lineup moves for Game 4]." "Our first period was probably similar to last game's first period except we got on the board and got things rolling. That's an important piece, getting that momentum. We weren't able to do it last game. To get it early tonight and get that feeling was critical." Peter DeBoer said.
"That was something we wanted to do, obviously, was get one early [Pavelski's goal, the fastest to start a playoff game in Sharks history]. This is an intimidating building to play in, and it is even more when you've got a lead early. [Pavelski] made a great tip on that one, the building got into it, and we rode that momentum." Couture said.
Game 5 - Thursday, April 20, 2017 - Sharks Lose 3-4 OT
David Desharnais scored at 18:15 of overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place. Leon Draisaitl passed out of the right corner to Desharnais, who beat goalie Martin Jones from the right hash marks to win it.
Desharnais set up the tying goal late in the third period. He passed the puck back to defenseman Oscar Klefbom, whose shot from the point went in off the post with 2:46 remaining to tie it 3-3. Patrick Maroon and Mark Letestu scored for Edmonton, and Cam Talbot made 27 saves two nights after he allowed five goals on 24 shots in a 7-0 loss in Game 4. Draisaitl and defenseman Matt Benning had two assists. David Schlemko, Mikkel Boedker and Patrick Marleau scored for San Jose, and Jones made 44 saves, including 13 in overtime.
Maroon scored at 5:28 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. He collected a rebound off a point shot from Benning and swept the puck in past Jones. San Jose scored the next three goals. Boedker tied it 1-1 at 10:12 on an excellent three-way passing play. Marcus Sorensen slid a pass from just inside the Oilers blue line to the left faceoff circle for Chris Tierney, who sent it across the slot to Boedker for an easy tap-in. Edmonton hit the post three times between the Maroon and Boedker goals (Jordan Eberle, 9:46; Darnell Nurse, 8:26, 5:42). Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 15:52 of the first, knocking in a puck on the goal line after it squeezed between Talbot's pads on a shot from Joe Thornton. Schlemko scored at 8:38 of the second period to put the Sharks up 3-1, two seconds after a goaltender interference penalty on Oilers forward Patrick Maroon ended. Schlemko's wrist shot from the point beat Talbot through traffic. The Oilers outshot the Sharks 14-2 in overtime, but Jones kept San Jose in the game with several outstanding saves. Letestu scored on the power play with 1:27 left in the second to get Edmonton within 3-2.
* After defenseman Andrej Sekera skated the puck from the right side of the rink to the left side along the Sharks blue line, he sent it to Desharnais, who had just jumped off the Oilers bench, at the right point. Desharnais passed to Draisaitl in the corner, skated to the net, and snapped Draisaitl's return feed over Jones' glove to win it.
* Draisaitl passed the puck through Milan Lucic's legs in front to Letestu, who scored on the power play to get the Oilers within a goal late in the second period.
* Desharnais had not scored a Stanley Cup Playoff goal since May 7, 2015, when he played for the Montreal Canadiens against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. … Defenseman Justin Braun had 10 of San Jose's 38 blocked shots.
"I really liked our third period. We managed it really good, we had our chances to put the puck in the net. Then we started to defend with 10 minutes left in the third, got into that mindset, and they tied it up." Peter DeBoer said.
"[Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic] played it pretty well [his save on Connor McDavid at 7:13 of overtime]. I know the pass went through, but [Draisaitl] kind of had to throw a slow saucer pass over to him, so it gave me some time to get over there." Martin Jones said.
"It's always disappointing to lose, losing [stinks]. There is no way around that. We battled hard tonight and did some good things to take that 3-1 lead, but unfortunately we couldn't battle it out." Joe Pavelski said.
Game 6 - Saturday, April 22, 2017 - Sharks Lose 1-3 OTMaroon scored at 5:28 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. He collected a rebound off a point shot from Benning and swept the puck in past Jones. San Jose scored the next three goals. Boedker tied it 1-1 at 10:12 on an excellent three-way passing play. Marcus Sorensen slid a pass from just inside the Oilers blue line to the left faceoff circle for Chris Tierney, who sent it across the slot to Boedker for an easy tap-in. Edmonton hit the post three times between the Maroon and Boedker goals (Jordan Eberle, 9:46; Darnell Nurse, 8:26, 5:42). Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 15:52 of the first, knocking in a puck on the goal line after it squeezed between Talbot's pads on a shot from Joe Thornton. Schlemko scored at 8:38 of the second period to put the Sharks up 3-1, two seconds after a goaltender interference penalty on Oilers forward Patrick Maroon ended. Schlemko's wrist shot from the point beat Talbot through traffic. The Oilers outshot the Sharks 14-2 in overtime, but Jones kept San Jose in the game with several outstanding saves. Letestu scored on the power play with 1:27 left in the second to get Edmonton within 3-2.
* After defenseman Andrej Sekera skated the puck from the right side of the rink to the left side along the Sharks blue line, he sent it to Desharnais, who had just jumped off the Oilers bench, at the right point. Desharnais passed to Draisaitl in the corner, skated to the net, and snapped Draisaitl's return feed over Jones' glove to win it.
* Jones made a left-pad save on Connor McDavid's shot from the right circle off a pass from Draisaitl on a 2-on-1 rush 7:13 into overtime.
* Draisaitl was 15 of 19 on faceoffs (79 percent).
* Desharnais had not scored a Stanley Cup Playoff goal since May 7, 2015, when he played for the Montreal Canadiens against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round. … Defenseman Justin Braun had 10 of San Jose's 38 blocked shots.
"[Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic] played it pretty well [his save on Connor McDavid at 7:13 of overtime]. I know the pass went through, but [Draisaitl] kind of had to throw a slow saucer pass over to him, so it gave me some time to get over there." Martin Jones said.
"It's always disappointing to lose, losing [stinks]. There is no way around that. We battled hard tonight and did some good things to take that 3-1 lead, but unfortunately we couldn't battle it out." Joe Pavelski said.
The Edmonton Oilers hung on for a series-ending 3-1 victory against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at SAP Center.
Edmonton won the best-of-7 series 4-2 and will play the Anaheim Ducks in the second round. Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev each scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal early in the second period, Connor McDavid scored into an empty net with less than a second left, and Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Oilers, who won a postseason series for the first time since advancing to the 2006 Cup Final. Patrick Marleau scored, and goalie Martin Jones made 18 saves for the Sharks, who made it to the Cup Final for the first time in their history last season. Draisaitl scored 54 seconds into the second period to put the Oilers ahead 1-0. He got behind the Sharks defense to take a stretch pass from Adam Larsson, fended off defenseman Justin Braun, and beat Jones. Less than a minute later, Slepyshev scored unassisted on a breakaway when he shot past Jones' blocker to make it 2-0 at 1:50. Marleau scored from the left of the Oilers net off a pass from Logan Couture through the slot at 12:12 of the third period to get the Sharks within 2-1. It was his third goal of the series, 68th in the NHL playoffs in his career. Edmonton killed a San Jose power play after being penalized for too many men on the ice with 4:57 remaining. Sharks forward Joe Pavelski beat Talbot with a backhand but hit the crossbar with 3:46 left. Edmonton defenseman Oscar Klefbom did not play in the third period because of an illness. Several Oilers, including Draisaitl, have had the flu.
* Marleau cut through the slot on a short breakaway for a backhand from close range, but Talbot made a left-pad save at 2:42 of the second period. "I was just trying to stay patient, and when he made the move, I tried to get a good push across because he's so quick, he can beat you back there pretty quick," Talbot said.
* Sharks defenseman Brent Burns had six shots on goal, 13 shot attempts and six hits, each a game high.
* Jordan Eberle led the Oilers with four shots and had three hits. … After being a healthy scratch for Game 5, Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi returned to the lineup, replacing Timo Meier. Donskoi had an assist and one shot on goal in 12:31.
"I knew we had to control McDavid, and we did. Our guys did a fantastic job of trying to limit his time and space. Their depth guys found some goals ... We did that last year on our playoff run." Peter DeBoer said.
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