Zach Hyman scored in overtime as the Edmonton Oilers came from behind to beat the San Jose Sharks 5-4 on Thursday night at Rogers Place.
“You expect … to have good habits and you want to win your battles and use this time wisely to prepare for the first round … (of) the playoffs,” Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak said after the game.
“It wasn’t our best game, but you have to hold yourself accountable.”
The Sharks took the lead on two quick goals from Noah Gregor. Shortly after Mikko Koskinen threw the puck into the corner, Gregor beat the Oilers goalie with a wrist snap from the slot.
Just 26 seconds later, Gregor’s pass hit Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard.
“Obviously we didn’t start the way we wanted tonight, but let’s thank our players that on a night where everything didn’t work out perfectly, we found a way to win,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. .
“I wasn’t too worried,” Kulak said. “At two goals, the game is far from out of control for us. We can score two just as quickly and do it every time.”
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The Oilers broke through in the second when Ryan McLeod fired on a power play rebound for his ninth goal of the season.
A few minutes later, Kailer Yamamoto received a pass from Leon Draisaitl and beat San Jose goalkeeper James Reimer for his 20th.
“When we know we’re not completely on our game, we know we can trust our process and get back to the simple stuff and keep working,” Kulak said. “We have a lot of offense.
“We never really have a problem scoring goals, so we stuck to our guns and ended up doing it.”
Scott Reedy answered with a deft deflection off the power play to make it 3-2 Sharks after two.
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It was back and forth in the third. Oilers forward Derek Ryan scored Tyson Barrie’s point shot for his 10th.
Nick Bonino restored the Sharks’ lead 1:05 later. Just 1:05 after that, Oilers captain Connor McDavid put Philip Broberg in the high spot. Broberg scored his first NHL goal to make it 4-4.
“Connor made a really good play and I snuck up and tried to put it in the net and it ended up going in,” Broberg said. “I’m focused on playing my own game and trying to help the team as much as I can, and if I can score a goal, that’s great.”
“It’s special to him, and (he was) a big target,” Woodcroft said. “It was an equalizer and an important one at that point in the game, and I’m sure he’ll remember it forever, especially who passed it to him.”
Reimer stopped McDavid on a break about a minute into overtime. With 3:23 to go, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set up Hyman for a one-timer to end the game.
The Oilers (48-27-6) host Vancouver on Friday to conclude the team’s regular season. You can listen to the game live at 630 CHED starting with The spectacle of confrontation at 5:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 7 p.m.
–With files from Brenden Escott, 630 CHED
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