Sharks at Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers appeared on their way to victory in their first playoff game since 2006 but squandered the opportunity and lost in overtime. Edmonton will get the chance to even their Western Conference first-round series when it hosts the San Jose Sharks for Game 2 on Friday.
The Oilers built a 2-0 lead in the first period as Milan Lucic, one of the team's few players with extensive playoff experience, recorded a goal and an assist. But San Jose battled back to forge a tie before Melker Karlsson scored 3:22 into overtime for the comeback victory. The Sharks welcomed Logan Couture back to the lineup after the center missed the final seven games of the regular season with a facial injury. Another injured forward could return Friday in Joe Thornton, who sat out the last three regular-season contests as well as the series opener due to a knee issue.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS, NBC Sports California (San Jose), Sportsnet, (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Couture registered one shot and won three of his five faceoffs over 20 minutes, 41 seconds of ice time in his first game since March 25 but was not pleased with his performance. "I was just off with timing and stickhandling and making plays, receiving passes," the 28-year-old told reporters. "Everything wasn't there. I wasn't very effective, but happy to get a game under my belt." Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic led San Jose with two points (both assists) in Game 1 after registering 12 (one goal) in 24 contests during the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final last postseason.
ABOUT THE OILERS: Captain Connor McDavid notched an assist in the series opener after ending the regular season with a 14-game point streak - the longest in the NHL in 2016-17. The 20-year-old recorded 100 points to join Wayne Gretzky as the only players in franchise history to capture the Art Ross Trophy. Defenseman Adam Larsson, who tied teammate Eric Gryba by delivering a game-high eight hits, did not participate in Thursday's practice.
OVERTIME
1. The Oilers matched the Sharks in the first period of the opener with 10 shots before registering only nine the rest of the way while allowing 34.
2. Karlsson game-winning goal in Game 1 was the second of his playoff career, with the first coming last postseason.
3. Edmonton D Kris Russell, who led the league with 213 blocked shots during the regular season, recorded a game-high six in the opener.