Game Preview: Oilers At Sharks
Moments after Edmonton beat the San Jose Sharks to end its lengthy losing streak, coach Dallas Eakins was focused on how the Oilers can build on that much-needed victory in the rematch.
Coming off their first win in four weeks, the Oilers conclude a home-and-home set with the Sharks on Tuesday night in San Jose.
Edmonton's 0-7-4 skid ended Sunday when David Perron's go-ahead goal 10:26 into the third period held up for a 2-1 victory. The win came two days after Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish said the struggling franchise is "under scrutiny" and that everybody from the players to the front office is under evaluation.
The Oilers (7-15-5), who have earned points in four of the last five, also snapped an eight-game home skid.
"Getting rid of that is huge," said Eakins, the second-year coach whose job appears safe for the moment. "Whatever you want to call it, getting the monkey off your back, an elephant, a large gorilla it feels good for everybody. Most importantly, for our players and our fans."
Faced with another matchup against the Sharks (14-11-4), surely smarting from being the first team to lose to Edmonton since the Rangers on Nov. 9, Eakins wouldn't let his club's celebration last long.
"We're not going to have a parade over this," he told the NHL's official website. "We have to get right back to business and play this same team, which is an extremely hard team to play against."
Edmonton has dropped five straight on the road
, though the last three were decided in overtime. The Oilers, held to two or fewer goals in eight of 10, caught San Jose on the tail end of games on consecutive nights.
The Sharks' 21 shots were their second-fewest of the season.
"San Jose was probably a tired group and we got them on the second night of a back-to-back, which was fortunate for us and helped us out," said Edmonton's Ben Scrivens, who allowed 10 goals in his previous two starts against the Sharks prior to Sunday.
"But at the end of the day, we executed pretty well. That has to be our expectation now, of how we have to play."
The Sharks will be looking for a fourth consecutive home victory overall and against Edmonton.
San Jose's four-game winning streak ended Sunday, but coach Todd McLellan won't use fatigue as a reason for the setback.
"If you go there, it begins to sound like we're using excuses," he said. "Teams play (back-to-back) in the league all the time. I still think that good teams can find ways, and we almost did. (You have to) find ways to win those games."
San Jose's Patrick Marleau extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Tye McGinn's first goal of the season. Marleau has four goals and three assists in his last six versus Edmonton.
Perron has two goals with two assists in the last four games. He has a goal in two of his last three against the Sharks.
It's likely Antti Niemi will be back in San Jose's net after backup Alex Stalock started Sunday. Niemi, who has won his last four starts, is 9-1-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average against Edmonton.
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