It’s been great to see playoff hockey back in the Gateway to the North. The Edmonton Oilers took command of their series against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night with a late goal to send the game into overtime followed by a winner in the extra frame to give them a 3-2 lead. San Jose will be on home ice in a bid to save their season in Game 6 on Saturday, but Edmonton has the momentum and is hungry for its first playoff series win in over a decade.
Don’t miss the action on the ice from the SAP Center in San Jose at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 22, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on NBCSN. We will have NHL playoff hockey odds at BookMaker.eu for every postseason game.
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After a low scoring start to the series, these teams have turned it on in the past two games. There were eight total goals in the first three games of the series, but there were seven in both Game 4 and Game 5. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this one end up with quite a few goals as well with Edmonton getting over its nerves and San Jose starting to look like the team we saw last year.
Dating back to the regular season, the Oilers have now won six of their last eight games against the Sharks. However, they are still struggling to find the back of the net like they did in the regular season with just nine goals in five games.
Matchup to Watch
San Jose’s power play was electric in the 7-0 rout of Edmonton in Game 4 and showed why many picked the Sharks to pull off the upset in this series. In that game, the Sharks lit the lamp four times with four different players on the power play and used the man advantage to snap a two game goalless drought.
It was a call back to the dominant Sharks power play unit we saw last season. San Jose rode its exceptional power play throughout the regular season and Western Conference playoffs all the way to the Stanley Cup before falling to Pittsburgh. The unit struggled during the regular season in 2017, but if they have found their footing, the Oilers are in trouble.
Key Stat
Some of the shot disparities in this series have been pretty overwhelming. Game 1 saw the Sharks have a 44-19 shot disparity, but they needed overtime to get the win. In Game 2 and Game 5, the Oilers outshot the Sharks by 20 and 18 respectively, but needed two shorthanded goals in Game 2 to get the win and needed overtime themselves in Game 5 for the victory.
Those shot disparities are pretty crazy and highlight that although four of the five games have been close, it would not be a surprise to see a blowout in Game 6 by any means. The team on the losing end has kept it close in these games so far, but with differentials like that, blowouts are always possible.
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Cam Talbot has already pitched two shutouts this postseason and is a big part of why Edmonton is up in this series despite averaging less than goals a game. He only had one really bad performance, Game 4 in San Jose, but the Sharks had eight power play chances in that game and every goalie has one bad performance in the postseason. Talbot had more ice time than any other goaltender in the regular season and this team trusts him.
With the pressure toned down a few notches, the young Oilers can finally breathe. They have had some hiccups through their first series since 2005-06, but will take this opportunity to play the type of hockey we saw in the regular season. Edmonton is going to play a more wide open game that San Jose just can’t match and that will give the Oilers the close-out victory.
NHL Playoff Odds: Oilers 4, Sharks 3
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