Oilers at Sharks
The Edmonton Oilers appeared to be on their way to the brink of elimination until David Desharnais received a chance to display his talent. Edmonton now has a chance to advance past the first round when it visits the San Jose Sharks on Saturday for Game 6 of their Western Conference series.
Desharnais saw limited ice time throughout the pivotal Game 5 but made the most of it late in the contest. After setting up defenseman Oscar Klefbom's tying goal with 2:46 remaining in the third period, the 30-year-old center gave the Oilers a 3-2 series lead at 18:15 of overtime with his fourth career playoff tally. San Jose, which made its first Stanley Cup Final appearance last year, is on the verge of being eliminated in the first round for the fourth time in nine postseasons. The Sharks seemed to be in control of Game 5 after trouncing the Oilers 7-0 in the previous contest to even the series, scoring three straight goals after falling behind 5 1/2 minutes into the game, but now must win in order to force a Game 7 on Monday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA (Edmonton), NBC Sports California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE OILERS: Desharnais, who was acquired from Montreal on Feb. 28, saw only 13 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time in Game 5 - the third-lowest amount among Edmonton forwards in Game 5 but his highest in the series thus far. Kris Russell entered Game 5 with a league-leading 22 blocked shots this postseason but failed to record one in the victory. The 29-year-old defenseman, who topped the NHL during the regular season with 213 blocks, was overtaken for first place in the playoffs as San Jose's Justin Braun recorded a game-high 10 to increase his postseason total to 26.
ABOUT THE SHARKS: Mikkel Boedker let coach Peter DeBoer know he previously had made a bad decision with his performance in Game 5. The 27-year-old Boedker, who was a healthy scratch for Games 3 and 4, scored midway through the first period to forge a 1-1 tie and set up defenseman David Schlemko's goal 8:38 into the second as San Jose took a 3-1 lead. After a franchise record-setting performance in the previous contest (4-for-8), the Sharks received only one power-play opportunity in Game 5 and failed to cash in, dropping to eighth among the 16 playoff teams (5-for-23, 21.7 percent).
OVERTIME
1. Sharks LW Patrick Marleau scored his 67th career postseason goal in Game 5, moving past Joe Nieuwendyk for 18th place on the all-time list while climbing within one of the legendary Gordie Howe.
2. Oilers C Leon Draisaitl, who avoided a suspension for a spearing infraction in the previous contest, notched a pair of assists in Game 5 for his first two career playoff points and went 15-4 on faceoffs.
3. San Jose D Brent Burns, who led the team in scoring during the regular season with 76 points, was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy for the second straight year.