The result was a sharp contrast from Game 1, when the Oilers were outshot 44-19 en route to a 3-2 overtime loss.
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Letestu promptly passed it to a streaking Kassian, who barreled in alone and fired a wrist shot low past the blocker of goalie Martin Jones.
Their work paid off with the tying goal at the 5:22 mark of the third period. “Force (the Oilers) to have to forecheck rather than dominate with the speed that (McDavid) plays with”.
With four skaters aside, Tomas Hertl fought off a check from Oilers defenseman Kris Russell, took the puck in front and got a shot on Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot. “I think everyone talks about playoff hockey and all that but it’s still the game that we’ve all been playing since we were young”.
Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko was quiet for most of the night until he drove into a crowd and threaded a pass through the Wild defence to Edmundson, who knocked in the second post-season goal of his career.
Edmonton hadn’t appeared in the playoffs in 11 years prior to Wednesday’s game, and postseason hockey is a whole new game that most of their team hadn’t experienced yet. Up 1-0 in the series against Los Angeles in 2016, the Sharks won another hard-hitting one-goal game against the Kings in Game 2 at Staples Center to head home in total command.
MONTREAL – Tanner Glass scored in the first period and Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves to help NY beat Montreal 2-0 in Game 1 of their first-round series. Connor McDavid leads Edmonton with 30 goals, Leon Draisaitl has 48 assists and Patrick Maroon has 178 shots on goal.
Now, McDavid gets to shine on the playoff stage against a Sharks team that could be without its top two centers in Joe Thornton and Logan Couture.
“Part of it is being away from the game for two and half weeks and part of it is wearing that cage and getting used to it”. “I don’t know if there is any other building in North America that rises to the occasion like they do in Edmonton. “(McDavid) gets his eyes up, he’s going to make plays.
“Puck possession matters a lot”, NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said. “But when I was out there, I felt good, so that’s a good sign”. – The Sharks can’t get discouraged if things don’t go as planned in Edmonton. “Whether you are happy with certain stretches of your game or not, we believed guys could step up and hit some levels and those guys’ games just got better and better as the night went on”.
The Sharks and Edmonton were teams headed in opposite directions heading into the playoffs. “You have a little momentum, you try to carry it along as long as you can because it can change in a hurry”. “We’ve seen that before”.
“If we turn over pucks continuously or get caught cheating on wrong sides it presents challenges”, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “We expect it and we’ll deal with it like we always have”. The Sharks finished last season as the runner up to the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. With Brent Burns on the back end, finishing the regular season with 76 points, 29 goals and 47 assists leading all defensemen in points and goals, the 32-year-old bearded wonder will be the backbone for this Sharks team.
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“It really brings the city and the community together and we’re all really hyped”, Van Rooig said. “It’s just a matter of outworking and outplaying them”.
