San Jose has had no problem scoring goals and taking leads against Edmonton this season.
Holding on to those leads, however, has been another story.
The Sharks conclude a five-game road trip in Edmonton on Tuesday night.
San Jose sits one point out of the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot after a 7-4 setback Sunday at Ottawa ended a two-game win streak.
“We got to continue to execute our breakouts better,” said San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky, who noted that breakouts would be the key to the Sharks’ game with Edmonton.
Mario Ferraro, Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf and Michael Misa scored, Macklin Celebrini recorded his 60th assist of the season and Laurent Brossoit made 17 saves in his first NHL start in 23 months.
“Every team is fighting for something right now,” Graf said. “And everyone’s going to play (hard), especially the teams who are right in the thick of the playoffs.”
This is the third of four meetings with the Oilers. San Jose blew a 3-0 advantage in a 4-3 overtime defeat in Edmonton in January. The Sharks did win at home last month, 5-4, but only after surrendering 3-1 and 4-3 leads.
The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division after a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday ended a two-game skid.
Connor McDavid had three assists and Connor Ingram made 26 saves as Edmonton opened a four-game homestand with two critical points.
Matthew Savoie, Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl scored in Sunday’s triumph. Draisaitl, whose 97 points rank fourth in the league and second on his team behind McDavid’s league-leading 114, had to leave the game after being checked into the top part of the boards. He is currently listed as day-to-day, but it appears he will be out Tuesday at a minimum.
“I think there will be some time without him,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday. “Not sure if it’s one, two (games) or how long it’s going to be, but I don’t have much information right now.”
