Sharks 2023-24 Game 81 Recap: Oilers 9, Sharks 2 (4/15/24)

 The Sharks drop their next-to-last game of the season in lopsided fashion, a 9-2 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers. 

 It only took less than a minute into the start of this one for the Oilers to score the first goal by none other than Connor McDavid. Edmonton extended its lead to two about three minutes later on a goal from Adam Henrique. The Oilers weren’t done yet in the first period, scoring two more goals via Warren Foegele and Dylan Holloway to make it 4-0 through one period of play. 

The Sharks scored their first goal of the game early in the second period via Danil Gushchin’s first goal of the year, with the lone assist going to Thomas Bordeleau. The floodgates opened up from there, with the Oilers scoring five more unanswered goals from Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, and Zach Hyman. Once it reached 8-1, Devin Cooley was pulled and finished his night with 14 saves on 22 shots against. Georgi Romanov was inserted in the game in relief for Cooley late in the second period, compiling 14 saves on 15 shots against in his NHL debut. On that ninth Oilers goal by Hyman, Connor McDavid registered his 100th assist of the season, becoming only the fourth player in NHL history to accomplish this feat besides Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Mario Lemieux. The Sharks were able to salvage one more goal late in the third period on Fabian Zetterlund’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season during a scramble in the crease to cut their deficit to seven, with assists from William Eklund and Mikael Granlund. This also extends Granlund’s point streak to 12 games, tying a franchise record. 

Prior to this game, the Sharks called up forward Danil Gushchin, defenseman Jack Thompson, and goalie Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda, while Jan Rutta, Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Filip Zadina, Alexander Barabanov, Jacob MacDonald, and Mackenzie Blackwood didn't travel with the Sharks to Alberta for their final two games of the season due to various injuries, effectively ending their 2023-24 campaigns. In addition, Givani Smith suited up for the Sharks in tonight's game in Edmonton. 

The Sharks travel to Calgary to face the Flames for their final game of the 2023-24 season on Thursday at 6 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store