Reimer finishes with season-high in saves but Sharks lose to Oilers in OT

EDMONTON, Alberta — Darnell Nurse scored at 4:45 of overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 win over the struggling San Jose Sharks on Monday night for their fourth straight win.

Mattias Ekholm had two goals, Kailer Yamamoto had a goal and an assist, and Nick Bjugstad also scored to help the Oilers win for the sixth time in seven games. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists, and Jack Campbell had 28 saves.

Erik Karlsson scored twice, Alexander Barabanov had a goal and an assist, and Steven Lorentz also scored for the Sharks, who lost their seventh straight (0-4-3) and fell to 2-11-4 in their last 17 games. James Reimer had a season-high 46 saves.

“We’ve seen that movie before,” San Jose coach David Quinn said. “They’re one of the best teams in the league who have an awful lot of firepower and I thought we competed.

“Our goalie played great and I thought we did a lot of good things tonight. It just wasn’t enough.”

With the clock winding down in the extra period, Nurse got a long pass from Yamamoto along the right side, skated in on Reimer on a breakaway, and beat him through the five-hole for his eighth of the season.

Ekholm tied it 4-4 with 3:47 left in the third with his second of the night and eighth of the season as he got a pass from McDavid, skated into the left circle, and fired a shot past Reimer. It was Ekholm’s first multigoal game since he had two against Columbus on Feb. 27, 2021. McDavid, who has an NHL-best 58 goals, extended his league lead with 78 assists and 136 points.

Karlsson put the Sharks ahead 4-3 with a one-timer from between the circles off a pass from Barabanov for his second of the night and 22nd of the season with 5:37 left in the second.

Barabanov got San Jose on the scoreboard first with a slap shot from the left circle on the rebound of a shot by Tomas Hertl at 5:48 of the first. It was his 15th.

Bjugstad tied it 1:20 later as he scored from the left doorstep off a setup from Warren Foegele before Reimer could get back over. It was his 16th.

Yamamoto put the Oilers ahead 2-1 as knocked in a loose puck from the inside edge of the right circle for his 10th just 30 seconds into the second.

Lorentz tied it eight minutes later on a breakaway as he batted the puck out of the air after Campbell had stopped the initial shot. It was his eighth.

Karlsson gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead less than two minutes later as he got a pass from Fabian Zetterlund, skated in on Campbell, and went backhand-forehand-backhand to get the goalie out of position before putting it in.

Ekholm tied it with 8:12 left in the second as he skated between two defenders in the left circle and put a backhander past Reimer on the glove side.

Lost goals

The game featured four goals that were erased — three for San Jose — after video reviews. Hertl appeared to give San Jose a 1-0 lead 1:14 in but was overturned for offside. Zach Hyman gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead midway through the first, but it was disallowed for goalie interference.

The Sharks looked to have tied it 2-2 six minutes into the second on a goal by Andreas Johnsson, but once again it was called back for goalie interference. Noah Gregor’s goal on an odd-man rush four minutes into the third that would have given San Jose a 5-3 lead was wiped out for offside.

“Obviously all the challenges were correct, that’s why the system is in place,” Karlsson said. “That’s the way it is sometimes, we got more taken away than they did. But it was all good calls and that’s why we implemented the rules they have so they have a chance to look at it.

“It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t capitalize on at least one of those.”

Up Next

Sharks: At Vancouver on Thursday night in the second of a three-game trip.

Oilers: Host Arizona on Wednesday night in the second of a three-game homestand.