Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have ignited offensively since the Olympic break ended, while the San Jose Sharks returned with a disappointing thud.
The Oilers wrap a three-game California road trip Saturday afternoon when they visit Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks.
Edmonton snapped a four-game losing streak Thursday with an emphatic 8-1 rout of the Los Angeles Kings. Twelve players registered points, led by Leon Draisaitl (one goal, three assists) and Jake Walman, who scored twice.
McDavid, the NHL’S leading scorer, added a goal and an assist to reach 100 points for the sixth consecutive season and ninth overall.
“I thought we obviously played a really good game, scored some goals, but, more importantly, I thought we checked really well,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said.
The victory was especially gratifying after the Oilers twice blew two-goal leads in Wednesday’s 6-5 setback to the Anaheim Ducks.
“I’ve been with this team a few years now, and I see that, you know, things don’t usually faze them. When things are on the line, and they need a bounce-back game, they usually respond really well,” Knoblauch said.
The Sharks, losers of five straight, host Edmonton in the second of four meetings this season. Their first was a Jan. 29 tilt in Edmonton, where the Sharks surrendered a 3-0 goal lead and Zach Hyman scored the overtime winner for the Oilers to prevail 4-3.
San Jose’s first game post-Olympic break was a 4-1 defeat to the Calgary Flames on Thursday that was marred by mistakes and a shaky third period. The Sharks fell despite an early second-period goal from Tyler Toffoli and 25 saves by Yaroslav Askarov.
“I thought we had a good energy, liked our start, did some really good things,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “The second goal, we had a bad change. The third goal, we turn over a puck. So, this time of the year, when you do those things, you’re gonna lose some hockey games. … We gotta regroup and move forward.”
Despite the recent skid, excitement surrounds the franchise, which has missed the playoffs for six straight years, as Celebrini emerges as a budding superstar.
The 2024 No. 1 overall pick leads the Sharks and ranks fifth in the league with 81 points. He dazzled at the Milan Cortina Olympics, leading all players with five goals for Canada’s silver medal squad.
“When he does what he does on a national stage like that, people are gonna notice,” Warsofsky said. “People have obviously noticed, and you know, we’ve seen it here in San Jose, but now the world sees it.”
In part due to the Olympic interruption, the Sharks are seeking their first win in more than a month. They last prevailed 5-2 at the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 27, when Celebrini tallied a goal and three assists and Askarov made 23 saves.
