Edmonton Oilers‘ Leon Draisaitl celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period in Game 6 of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose on Saturday, April 22, 2017.Kelley L Cox/The Associated Press
The Edmonton Oilers became the first Canadian team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night with a thrilling 3-1 victory over San Jose at the SAP Center.
Leon Draisaitl and Anton Slepyshev scored on breakaways less than a minute apart early in the second period, and Connor McDavid added an empty-netter with three-tenths of a second left. Cam Talbot had 27 saves in Edmonton's first series win in the postseason in more than a decade.
The Oilers will play Anaheim in the second round. The Ducks made easy work of the Calgary Flames, eliminating them in four games. The schedule for Round 2 is yet to be released.
"We are ready for the Ducks," McDavid told broadcaster Cassie Campbell-Pascall.
The Maple Leafs and the Senators remain alive and both have games on Sunday. Trailing in its series against Washington, 3-2, Toronto is at home at Air Canada Centre. Ottawa leads Boston, 3-2, and is playing at TD Garden. Montreal was eliminated by the Rangers on Saturday in six games.
The Oilers came out firing in their most important game since June 19, 2006, when they lost to Carolina in Raleigh in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. This is the first season since 2005-06 that they made the playoffs, and they did it after finishing 29th among 30 teams in 2015-16.
Edmonton went 13-4-1 in March and April while pushing its way up to second in the Pacific Division. At the same time, San Jose went 9-11 and fell from first to third.
The Ducks, who are 15-0-3 in the last 18 games, will offer a bigger challenge. The Oilers beat them three times in five meetings during the regular season, but Anaheim will have home-ice advantage after finishing first in the division.
The Oilers were wary about getting off to a poor start on Saturday after losing to the Sharks 7-0 on Wednesday on their home ice. It was the team's worst loss of the season, and its worst playoff defeat ever. The seven goals were also a record in postseason for the Sharks.
"It is a hostile place to play," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said earlier after his team's morning skate. "We have had some success, but the important thing for us is to be ready to play (tonight). I believe we have learned our lesson from Game 4."
Edmonton outshot San Jose 9-6 in the first period, with several close chances. Talbot saved them at least once, when the Oilers turned the puck over in front of him while they were on a power play.
Draisaitl broke a 0-0 deadlock on his breakaway only 54 seconds into the second period. After Ryan Nugent-Hopkins blocked a shot, Adam Larsson found Draisaitl open and he fought off a check from Justin Braun before slipping his shot through goalie Martin Jones's legs.
It took only 56 seconds for Slepyshev to make it 2-0. The 22-year old forward, who played in the KHL as recently as 2014-15, grabbed a loose puck, skated in and easily beat Jones. It was the first postseason goal for each of them.
A hush fell over the sell-out crowd at SAP Center, while fans at Rogers Place watching the telecast on the scoreboard cheered. More than 18,000 people paid a $5 admission fee, with proceeds going to charity, to watch the game.
"It is a huge moment for the organisation," Draisaitl said afterward.
The game was not without drama. Patrick Marleau scored from the side of the net off a nice pass from Logan Couture, cutting Edmonton's lead to 2-1 with 7:48 remaining. The Oilers were then assessed for a too-many-men infraction with 4:57 left, and San Jose was in full attack. The Oilers played the entire third period without Oscar Klefbom, their best defenceman, who was suffering from the flu.
"I tried to control rebounds as best I could and not give them any second opportunities," Talbot said.
The Sharks yanked Jones with 1:43 remaining and pressured the Oilers relentlessly the rest of the way. Draisatl was foiled on what appeared to be a sure goal, having his stick snap just as he went to fire at a gaping net within the final minute.
The Oilers took command of the series with a dramatic come-from-behind victory in overtime on Thursday in Game 5 at Rogers Place. They trailed 3-1 late in the second period before Mark Letetsu scored on a power play. Klefbom then tied it with 2:46 left in regulation, and David Desharnais won it with 1:45 left in the extra period.
The Oilers rallied after McDavid made a crushing open-ice hit against Marcus Sorensen. Edmonton's 20-year-old centre logged more than 30 minutes of ice time, a huge number for a non-defenceman. His last-second goal in Game 6 gave him two and four points in the series, during which he was closely marked.
"I learned a little bit about what the playoffs are all about," McDavid said. "It was a great series for me to learn from."
Entering Game 6, history was on the Oilers side. Edmonton has never lost a playoff series after winning Game 5 when it was tied 2-2. As a franchise, the Sharks had only won a series once in 11 tries when trailing 3-2.
With McDavid mostly held in check in the series, the outcome was mostly left up to Edmonton's supporting cast. Zack Kassian scored the winning goals in Games 2 and 3. Kris Russell, the scrappy defenceman who led the NHL in blocked shots, had 27 blocks in six games. Patrick Maroon had a goal and 22 hits. Larsson had 21 hits, Matt Benning had 20.
The Oilers beat the Sharks every which way - throwing their bodies around, mixing it up in every tight games. They came back from two goals down. They didn't succumb to the pressure after getting shellacked in Game 4 at San Jose.
"I think we saw a team grow up before our very eyes, and it was a great thing," McLellan said.