The Oilers finally ended the weird three-game streak narrative, overcoming a slow start to secure a thrilling win against the Sharks.
The Edmonton Oilers can finally say they've won three in a row. It was a brutal narrative that didn't really matter, but stuck with the team like a bad cold. Relieved to shake it; everyone in the room can put the storyline to bed and move on to more important matters.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said, "It's nice having three in a row, but more importantly, we beat a team that we need to keep behind us." Understanding the bigger picture, "We want to finish as high as we can in the standings, and to do that, we have to win games, especially games against teams that are in our division, and we want to pass."
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When asked if the three games in a row mattered to the team or if the best part was that they could stop talking about it, "Nobody really wants to talk about it," said Kasperi Kapanen. "It's good that we go that third one out of the way. I'm sure guys have been thinking about it a little bit throughout the year, but hopefully from now on we can keep playing well and just extend this win streak."
And that's what matters -- turning three in a row into a fourth, then a fifth...
Zach Hyman said, "Guess it takes an ugly one to get over the hump there. Crazy stat with where we are at, but we won three in a row, so I guess we can stop talking about it."
Focus now that shift to the bigger story—that Edmonton continues to start poorly but can come back from another brutal start and find a way to win.
"Good Teams Find a Way"
"We started rock bottom at the start, first five minutes. Really sloppy puck play, we weren't ready for their pressure, which led to some goals against," said Knoblauch. "Our starts have been... not very good. The intensity has been there, but the focus and the execusion has not."
Thursday's matchup against the Sharks looked headed in another negative direction. He added that the chances they gave up early were horrendous.
The Sharks scored 26 seconds in. Colin Graf was wide open on a pass from Will Smith. The goal came after several turnovers and pucks in the skates, with some Oilers trying to fly the zone before possession was established. The series of gaffes left Connor Ingram completely exposed. There was nothing the goaltender could do.
Adam Gaudette scored San Jose's second goal when he went in all alone on a terrible line change where Jake Walman went off before the zone was over center. The puck was lost along the way, and Gaudette had a clear breakaway. Again, that's a tough one for Ingram to stop.
The Sharks scored again at 11:40 when the puck went in off Evan Bouchard. Michael Misa broke in two on one, and before the puck could bounce to William Eklund, who might have potted it home anyway, it bounced off the Oilers' star defenseman.
The game turned late. Knoblauch added, "In the third period, we showed a little urgency, got an early goal." From there, they got momentum, and the 6-on-5 took over.
Oilers beat the Sharks and end the "weird" three-game streak narrative.Leon Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board early in the third (1:34) as he poked in a loose puck in the crease. Unable to do much five-on-five, with Edmonton down by two, the Oilers pulled Ingram with 3:58 left. Knoblauch called it a "no-brainer" decision to leave the net empty. His top line was rested, and the faceoff was in the offensive zone. With 3:05 remaining, Connor McDavid scored on a wrist shot to make it 3-2. Evan Bouchard scored with 58.1 seconds left with the goalie pulled again.
Regulation ended 3-3.
Going into overtime, the Oilers had all the momentum. "Good times find ways to win hockey games," said Knoblauch. "We didn't get off to a good start, but we found a way."
The Oilers did find a way. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. Edmonton has two games left before the break, and the team can rest a little easier knowing the three-game narrative is over.
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