Oilers Finally Break the Three-Game Curse with Gritty Comeback Win Over Sharks
It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy-but it finally happened. The Edmonton Oilers have won three straight games, putting to bed one of the strangest mini-drought narratives in the NHL this season.
For a team that’s surged through the standings over the past couple of months, the inability to string together three consecutive wins had become an oddly persistent talking point. Now, it’s officially in the rearview.
And while the streak itself might not have meant much in the grand scheme, the win over the San Jose Sharks did. Head coach Kris Knoblauch kept the focus on the bigger picture: “It’s nice having three in a row, but more importantly, we beat a team that we need to keep behind us.”
That’s the kind of perspective you want from a coach steering a team with playoff aspirations. These are the games you have to win-divisional matchups against teams you're trying to pass or keep in the rearview.
Slow Starts Still Haunting Edmonton
Let’s not sugarcoat it: the Oilers came out flat. Again.
The opening five minutes were a mess-sloppy puck movement, poor decisions, and a general lack of readiness for San Jose’s pressure. Knoblauch didn’t mince words: “We started rock bottom at the start… the intensity has been there, but the focus and execution has not.”
That lack of focus showed up immediately. Just 26 seconds in, the Sharks were on the board.
Colin Graf found himself wide open thanks to a blown coverage and a turnover-riddled sequence. Connor Ingram, left completely exposed, had no shot at stopping it.
San Jose’s second goal was another self-inflicted wound. A brutal line change left Adam Gaudette all alone, and he didn’t waste the breakaway opportunity.
Then came the third-a puck deflected off Evan Bouchard after a two-on-one rush led by Michael Misa. The Oilers were down 3-0 before they even found their footing.
Third-Period Turnaround Sparks Comeback
But this is where the Oilers showed something. Good teams find a way, and that’s exactly what Edmonton did.
Leon Draisaitl got the comeback rolling early in the third, jamming home a loose puck in the crease at 1:34. It wasn’t flashy, but it was exactly what the Oilers needed-momentum.
With just under four minutes left and still trailing by two, Knoblauch made the call to pull Ingram. “No-brainer,” he said.
His top line was rested, and the faceoff was in the offensive zone. The gamble paid off.
Connor McDavid did what he does-scoring on a quick-release wrister to cut the lead to 3-2. Less than three minutes later, Evan Bouchard tied it up with just 58.1 seconds left on the clock. Another empty-net goal, another clutch moment.
From there, it felt inevitable.
Overtime Belongs to the Oilers
The Oilers carried all the momentum into overtime, and they didn’t let it go to waste. The comeback was complete. The streak-finally-was snapped.
“We didn’t get off to a good start, but we found a way,” Knoblauch said after the game. That’s been the through line for this team lately.
They’re not always perfect, but they’re resilient. And that resilience is starting to turn into results.
Zach Hyman summed it up best: “Guess it takes an ugly one to get over the hump there. Crazy stat with where we are at, but we won three in a row, so I guess we can stop talking about it.”
Looking Ahead
With two games left before the All-Star break, the Oilers can breathe a little easier. The bizarre three-game wall is gone, and the focus now shifts to building something bigger.
Turn three into four. Then five.
And beyond.
Because if Edmonton can start matching their late-game urgency with better starts, this is a team no one’s going to want to face down the stretch.