Sharks Let One Slip Away in Edmonton, But the Focus Is Already Forward
For 40 minutes, the San Jose Sharks were in full control. Up 3-0 heading into the third period against the Edmonton Oilers, it looked like they were about to notch another convincing win on this road trip. But in hockey, three-goal leads can vanish in a blink-and that’s exactly what happened at Rogers Place.
With the Oilers pressing and pulling their goalie late, the Sharks gave up two goals in just over two minutes, sending the game to overtime. And in the extra frame, a pair of tough moments for defenseman Timothy Liljegren opened the door for Edmonton to complete the comeback.
It was a gut-punch loss-the kind that lingers. But don’t expect this Sharks team to dwell on it.
Veteran defenseman Jason Demers, now on the outside looking in, summed up the mindset with a tweet that echoed the team’s internal mantra: “No such thing as failure, just an opportunity to learn. Err on the side of aggression. The boys will bounce back better than ever.”
That’s the energy the Sharks need to carry into the rest of this road trip, especially with two of the next three games coming against teams below them in the standings: the Calgary Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks. These are the kind of games that can shape a season-bounce-back opportunities that test a team’s mental makeup as much as their skill on the ice.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky and rookie standout Macklin Celebrini have both been preaching the same message throughout the trip: “Be where our feet are.” It’s a simple phrase, but a powerful one-stay in the moment, don’t let the highs get too high or the lows too low.
The Sharks certainly stayed locked in earlier this week with a dominant 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. That kind of performance is what they’ll be aiming to replicate. And if the last month and a half is any indication, this group has shown a knack for shaking off tough losses and staying competitive.
But let’s talk about the third-period collapse in Edmonton for a moment-because there’s no learning without looking at what went wrong.
Timothy Liljegren, who had been having a solid game, owned up to his role in the overtime sequence. “I made a bad turnover,” he said.
“I was trying to get it over to Wenny [Wennberg] on the other side. Fanned on the puck a little bit…I tripped into the net, and they scored.”
It’s the kind of play that happens fast, and in OT, mistakes are magnified. To make matters worse, it looked like Zach Hyman gave Liljegren a shove into goalie Yaroslav Askarov just before burying the game-winner. But in the heat of OT, there’s no time for excuses.
Askarov, for his part, didn’t see much on the winner. “Nothing, seriously, nothing,” he said when asked what he saw on the play. Sometimes, that’s how it goes.
The Sharks had a game plan in place for OT, and Warsofsky explained the thinking behind starting the trio of Wennberg, Liljegren, and Mario Ferraro. “We wanted to try to shut down McDavid and Draisaitl,” he said.
“Our guys were doing a pretty good job all night. We get the puck and we get what we want, and we turn it over.”
The idea was to win the puck back defensively, then get Celebrini out there to attack in transition. The plan worked-until it didn’t.
Still, there were bright spots. Warsofsky praised 17-year-old phenom Michael Misa, saying, “He’s been good.
He’s earning more and more ice time, that’s for sure.” For a young player still adjusting to the NHL pace, that’s high praise-and a sign that the Sharks are building something sustainable.
Collin Graf also spoke about the challenge of containing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. “They’re going to get their chances,” he said.
“It’s on us to try to limit as much as we can, or make sure they’re from the outside. We did a pretty good job until the end.”
That’s the thing-San Jose was doing a lot of things right. They played a structured, disciplined game for most of the night.
But against a team like Edmonton, no lead is ever safe. And when the Oilers crank up the pressure with the extra attacker, even the smallest mistakes can flip the script.
Tyler Toffoli’s absence in the second period was due to illness, and Warsofsky confirmed a few Sharks are battling through it. That’s part of the grind this time of year-every team is dealing with something, and depth becomes critical.
So where do the Sharks go from here?
They regroup. They lean on what’s been working. They stay present.
This version of the Sharks-young, fast, and still finding their identity-has shown resilience all season long. One bad period doesn’t erase that. If anything, it gives them another layer of experience to draw from.
The road trip rolls on. The opportunity to bounce back is right in front of them. Let’s see what they do with it.