Raphael Lavoie of the Edmonton Oilers battles for control of the puck with Fabian Zetterlund of the San Jose Sharks during the first period at SAP Center. The Sharks won 3-2 on Nov. 9, 2023 in San Jose.Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Tomas Hertl scored a goal and set up another to help the San Jose Sharks win their second straight game following 11 consecutive losses to open the season, 3-2 over the slumping Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
“It was by far the best game of the year,” Hertl said. “I think everybody played really well. It wasn’t just one guy. ... I’m really proud of the group after two tough losses.”
In a matchup of the NHL’s two worst teams so far this season, it was Connor McDavid and the Oilers who ended up on the losing end despite having 49 more shot attempts than San Jose.
“I don’t really know what to say,” forward Leon Draisaitl said. “We tend to outshoot other teams consistently, probably out-chance other teams consistently. We’re not in sync right now.”
Hertl assisted on Fabian Zetterlund’s goal that opened the scoring in the first period and then took advantage of a fortunate bounce to score midway through the second period.
Filip Zadina also scored for San Jose, which ended an eight-game losing streak against the Oilers.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 39 saves, coming up big on an Edmonton power-play late in the game after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored with the goalie pulled with 2:26 to play.
San Jose has held its last two opponents to one goal after giving up 10 in back-to-back losses.
“It feels good to back up what we did the other night, and even better,” coach David Quinn said.
Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers.
McDavid, who led the NHL with 64 goals last season, has no goals in his last seven games. The Oilers have lost four straight and have one win in their last nine contests. Their five points are tied with the 1993-94 team for the fewest through 12 games in franchise history and tied with San Jose for the fewest this season.
“We can’t really be looking at the standings right now,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We got to look within ourselves and not worry about the rest of what’s going on around us.”
Stuart Skinner made 15 saves for Edmonton in the first game since the Oilers sent high-priced goalie Jack Campbell to the AHL in what coach Jay Woodcroft described as a “message” to his struggling team.
Woodcroft said after the move that he expected the Oilers to play their best game of the season but that didn’t materialize. Woodcroft said he wasn’t worried about his job security
“I worry about taking care of my daily business and my daily process and making sure that I give my players something to focus on and concentrate on,” he said. “No one’s happy with where we’re at. We all own it. We can be better and that’s where my focus is.”
The Sharks responded late in the period when Nikita Okhtiuk’s pass deflected off Zetterlund to an open Hertl in the slot. Hertl beat Skinner for his second goal of the season.
Zadina added an insurance goal early in the third when he scored on a 2-on-1 rush off a pass from Nico Sturm.
That was enough to give the Sharks their second win of the season after tying a record with 11 straight losses – including one in a shootout – to open the season.
Up next
Oilers: At Seattle on Saturday night.
Sharks: At Vegas on Friday night.