It was a spirited Edmonton team that made its long-awaited return to the playoffs.
Perhaps a bit too spirited.
The aggressive Oilers ended up shorthanded six times against the Sharks, whose comeback Wednesday started with a power-play goal early in the second period.
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It wasn’t just the goal that hurt the Oilers, either. It was all the time they had to spend on the kill.
“We went over why the game turned, and it’s pretty simple,” forward Jordan Eberle said, per the Edmonton Journal. “We got caught a lot with long shifts and just didn’t have any energy. You get a guy like Brent Burns spending 10 minutes on the power play, it’s not going to help your cause.”
The Oilers led 2-0 after 20 minutes of Game 1. But the Sharks were in control from the second period onward, and they eventually won it, 3-2, in overtime.
Game 2 goes tonight in Edmonton.
“We’ve got to stay out of the box,” said Eberle.