The Edmonton Oilers secured a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, relying on two quick goals early in the third period to pull away.
Mattias Ekholm initiated the scoring at 12:37 of the first period, registering his first goal of the season with a slap shot. Isaac Howard and Josh Samanski were credited with the assists on the ice to give the Oilers an initial lead that held through the middle frame.
Edmonton extended the margin early in the third period when Vasily Podkolzin took feeds from Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, firing a slap shot past the goalie at 3:13 for his fifth goal of the season. Alex Formenton pushed the lead to 3-0 at 5:40 with a backhand shot for his first goal of the year, set up by Mathieu Joseph and Connor Murphy. Macklin Celebrini put San Jose on the board at 11:19, scoring his first goal of the season on a wrist shot assisted by Michael Misa to round out the scoring.
Goaltender Tristan Jarry turned aside 19 of the 20 shots he faced to earn the victory for Edmonton, while Yaroslav Askarov made 17 saves on 20 shots for San Jose. Special teams were quiet throughout the contest, with the Oilers going 0 for 2 on the power play and the Sharks failing to convert on their single advantage.
The win pushed Edmonton to a 4-0-1 record on the season and extended their winning streak to four games. San Jose fell to 3-2-0 with the loss.
The Sharks will visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, October 19. The Oilers return to action on Tuesday, October 20, when they host the Minnesota Wild.
