The Edmonton Oilers closed out the regular season with a convincing 3–0 win against the San Jose Sharks, despite once again playing with 17 skaters instead of the standard 18.
In what was effectively the start of a three-game road trip, with Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs being in Los Angeles, the Oilers put together a playoff-calibre performance against a Sharks club that, while lean on wins, has kept things tight in their head-to-head matchups against Edmonton all season long.
This was a game of milestones for the Oilers, with Connor McDavid reaching the 100-point mark for the fifth consecutive year early on, Ty Emberson registering his first multi-point NHL game, Max Jones tallying his first goal as an Oiler, and the team as a whole reaching 100 points in the standings for the fourth consecutive year. Beyond the milestones, there was even more to like about the game the Oilers put forth on this night.
Century milestones achieved
Two things were most imperative for the Oilers in this game: get the win to clinch a fourth straight 100+ point campaign, and have McDavid register point number 100 without getting banged up.
The latter of these two missions was accomplished rather early; after a tepid start in which San Jose racked up a 6–0 edge in shots on goal, Emberson got the first Oilers goal on their first shot of the game, with a point shot set up by none other than McDavid from the half-wall.
Extra stick-tap to Connor Brown, who has been rocking it lately; though he does not get a point on this goal, he causes the commotion in front of Alexandar Georgiev that prevents the Sharks netminder from making the save.
The former mission would, of course, take another two and a half periods to seal, but the Oilers closed it out in rather convincing fashion, clinching four consecutive 100-point regular seasons for the first time since 1983–84 to 1986–87.
In depth scoring
Down the stretch, the Oilers have needed more contributions from players on the roster outside of the core, which has been severely affected by the injury bug as of late.
After an off-night against a Los Angeles Kings team determined to not waste any more opportunities in locking up home-ice advantage for the forthcoming first-round series versus Edmonton, the depth scoring came back on. Besides Emberson’s tally, Max Jones ended his goal-less run in 2024–25 by alertly activating, and tapping in an Adam Henrique centring feed to extend the Oilers lead to 2–0. The goal was Jones’ first since March 1, 2024, and Emberson picked up his second point of the night with the secondary assist, making this his first multi-point game in the NHL.
For good measure, Corey Perry sealed the game with an empty-netter to finish the campaign with 19 goals, the highest mark on the team. Perry enters the postseason having scored in three of his final four regularseason games, and could have a key role to play in the Oilers’ 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff run.
The Oilers gave the Sharks nothing
The early 6–0 run on the shot clock for the Sharks was about the only wart in the Oilers’ defensive game on this night. Throughout the final 50+ minutes of game action, San Jose was only permitted 12 shots on goal, with just a handful of them presenting any threat of going in.
The shorthanded defence corps of the Oilers played a complete game, not just limited to the offence produced by Emberson. Brett Kulak played the responsible game that has become nearly routine for him this season. Josh Brown and Cam Dineen held their own and showed that they can be relied on in a pinch should the need arise in the playoffs. Evan Bouchard played one of his better defensive outings in lieu of any offence, which the Oilers had enough of anyways.
More crucially, on the high-danger chances that were allowed, Stuart Skinner had the answer to back his teammates up. In the two games that Skinner has played this week, he has stopped 35 of 36 shots faced, good for a .972 SV%, and certainly enough to win games in the playoffs. The Kings are entering the playoffs with a hot goalie of their own, and the Oilers will need Skinner’s best to match up with Los Angeles. Solid, steady performances like these are very promising in this regard.
What’s next for the Oilers
The Oilers will stay in the state of California, as they open a playoff run on the road for the first time since 2006. A full playoff schedule is expected in the next 24 to 48 hours, with Thursday being the final day of the NHL’s 2024–25 regular season. Game 1, as it appears currently, will be either Sunday or Monday night.
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