EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Every time the San Jose Sharks fell behind Wednesday night, they fought right back.
Tomas Hertl had two goals, including the game-winner 2:40 into overtime, and the Sharks came back on three occasions to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
”The mentality all year has just been to stick with it,” said Brenden Dillon, who had a goal for San Jose. ”A big thing for us that we can kind of lean on is that we are a never-quit team and we were able to come back as the game went on.”
Logan Couture also scored and added two assists for the Sharks, who have won two straight. San Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of Los Angeles and Anaheim with 12 games remaining.
”We are all watching the standings and there is not much room for error right now,” captain Joe Pavelski said. ”It is tight. We knew how important the points were tonight and it was a great job of the guys continuing to battle back. It was nice to get that extra point in overtime. It is really big for us right now.”
Drake Caggiula, Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the goals for the Oilers (30-35-5), who lost their second in a row.
”Just a few individuals with some tough nights that created some turnovers,” coach Todd McLellan said. ”Our backup goaltender gives us a performance like that, I thought we should be able to close it off.”
Zack Kassian hooked a backhand pass from behind the net out front to Caggiula, who slipped a shot past Sharks goalie Martin Jones as Edmonton took the lead 2:39 into the first period.
Hertl converted on a 2-on-1 break, beating Oilers backup Al Montoya for his 17th goal of the season to tie it eight minutes into the game.
Klefbom put away a long point shot eight minutes into the second. The goal withstood a video review.
San Jose tied it a couple of minutes later with Caggiula serving a double-minor when Couture moved in from the top of the circle and beat Montoya with a wrist shot for his 28th.
Edmonton made it 3-2 early in the third when Nugent-Hopkins tipped in Klefbom’s shot for his 19th, with Connor McDavid getting his second assist of the night to give him 86 points on the season.
San Jose evened it yet again nine minutes into the third on a long shot through traffic by Dillon.
”I thought we got a little bit tired at the end,” McLellan said. ”Some guys have played a lot of hockey in the last few days and it showed a little bit at the end.”
NOTES: San Jose won the season series 3-1 after losing to Edmonton in the first round of last year’s playoffs. … Klefbom returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games due to exploratory shoulder surgery. He is expected to be shut down for a more thorough procedure soon that will end his season. … Joel Ward (shoulder) and Joe Thornton (knee) sat out for the Sharks.
UP NEXT
Sharks: At the Calgary Flames on Friday, the second stop on a three-game trip through Western Canada.
Oilers: Begin a four-game road trip at Florida on Saturday.
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