The Edmonton Oilers just about got goalie’d Saturday afternoon when they welcomed the San Jose Sharks to town.
And it’s not like it was by one of the league’s top goaltenders, either — it was from one of the game’s brightest young stars in the crease: Yaroslav Askarov.
Acquired by the Sharks late in the summer, they’ve eased him into the NHL, but showed why it might be tough to send him back to the American Hockey League as he turned aside a staggering 41 of the 44 shots he faced. His team in front of him would build an early lead, as a Zach Hyman goal was sandwiched by two of the Sharks, when Luke Kunin scored three and a half minutes into the first period, and Jan Rutta with 12 to go.
The Oilers came out lethargic for the second straight game, finding a way to turn up the intensity as the game went on. The Rogers Place ice tilted further and further in their favour as things went on, peppering Askarov from left, right and centre, only for him to turn what seemed like everything aside.
But with the Oilers net empty late in the dying seconds of the third period, Mattias Ekholm would be a hero for the second straight game. While it was the game-winner against Boston on Thursday, it was the game-tying mark Saturday.
Leon Draisaitl, who was stonewalled multiple times by Askarov earlier in the game, would score the all-important game-winner just 18 seconds in.
“These are always exciting and fun if they go your way, so I think we’ve done a good job the last two nights of finding a way to close out a game,” said Draisaitl, via the Oilers website. “You’ve got to find a way to win any type of hockey game in this league, and the last two nights, we’ve certainly won them the same way.
“You don’t want to do that every night, but sometimes, you need those.”
Askarov, meanwhile, was the reason the Sharks were in the game all night long, turning aside a full goal saved above expected, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“He had a heck of a game, and we have pre-scouts on the opposition goalies every game and have our players watch the video,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, via the Oilers website. “We knew what he was about and he played very well tonight. He made a lot of key saves, and there were also many opportunities where we just missed the net.
“We did make him look better, but a lot of credit to him for playing well.”
Backhanders…
- After splitting up defensive pairings in a Friday practice, the Oilers were back to their regularly scheduled programming against San Jose. The new pairings were set to see Darnell Nurse play with Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm and Ty Emberson and Brett Kulak with Troy Stetcher. Instead, it was Ekholm and Bouchard, Nurse and Kulak would play together, but also rotate in with Stetcher and Emberson.
- Edmonton’s final game ahead of the Christmas break will see them host the Ottawa Senators Sunday night. They’ll return next weekend with back-to-back road matinees on Saturday and Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, with puck drop set for 2:00 p.m. MST for both games.
