Comfortable win in return to Shark Tank shows how far Oilers have come

The last time the Edmonton Oilers ventured into San Jose looking for two points, they instead unearthed the nadir of their season.

It was a 3-2 loss to the Sharks and a tie with San Jose for 32nd place. The Oilers were broken, a supposed Stanley Cup contender tied for dead last with a 2-9-1 record. 

Our lede that Thursday night: “It’s likely over for Jay Woodcroft, the whip-smart head coach who simply has run out of answers for his Edmonton Oilers.” 

By Sunday afternoon, the Oilers were announcing Kris Knoblauch as their new head coach.

If it was Knoblauch’s job to find some answers after that last tour through Northern California, then on the return visit Thursday night the Oilers definitely like a team that had righted itself.

Edmonton did what a good team is supposed to do when they play these Lemon Sharks, scoring one minute into the game, pouring in three more for a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes, and then taking care of business the rest of the way.

There was zero rust on an Oilers team playing its first game back from the holiday break, on a three-game California road trip that absolutely must yield four of a possible six points — if not more.

“The guys were focused, ready to play,” Knoblauch said. “The break is nice and everyone enjoyed it, but obviously they know there's work to be done. We weren't taking anything for granted, and we came ready to play.”

Edmonton scored four on Sharks rookie goalie Magnus Chrona to chase him from his first ever NHL start after only 20 minutes. A warm shower and a cold "Chrona," it’s a starting debut he’ll sadly never forget.

At the other end, Stuart Skinner took home a shutout on 25 saves, on a night that served as a metaphor for what has changed since that last visit to the Shark Tank. Skinner made a few early saves — none of which were the kind of no-chancers he faced the last time in San Jose — and then watched comfortably as his team allowed just seven first-period shots while burying the Sharks in goals.

He remembers the last time in here, even if it’s not a topic these players feel like relitigating at this point. 

“There's highs and lows in the season,” began Skinner. “And I think we're doing a really good job at trying to stay even keel and just work our way up. We know the position that we're in in the standings.” 

Edmonton still sits five points back of the wildcard teams, with games in hand and a fulsome 50 games remaining to make up that ground. They’ve won three straight, seven of their last 10, and since that debacle in San Jose back on Nov. 9 they’ve been a healthy 14-6-0. 

“When you look back (at) that game,” said Darnell Nurse after a two-assist night, “the energy of the guys was not at a high point. Looking at now, and where we we’ve clawed our way to, I think it shows the resiliency of our group. 

“But at the end of the day, you look at the standings and where we are… We’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

• Red-hot Ryan McLeod scored at the one-minute mark, a streak that saw him score four goals on four consecutive shots over three games. He took his total of two goals through 29 games and turned it into six goals after 32 games.

• Zach Hyman scored his 20th in game No. 32. He’s on pace for 50, and sits tied for fifth in the NHL in goals this season. 

• Evan Bouchard blasted home a goal and added an assist, leaving him tied for third among all NHL D-men with nine goals and tied for third with 34 points. 

• The Oilers scored four times in the first period. Their 47 first-period goals is tops in the NHL.

• Edmonton entered the game on an 0-for-10 powerplay drought, the best powerplay in the world a season ago having gone four games without producing a goal. On Thursday they got just 16 seconds of powerplay time and failed to score, so it’s 0-for-11 heading into Saturday’s game against Los Angeles.