Oilers overcoming slow starts in dramatic wins

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers are building their sense of belief.

They’d rather not do it, however, on a series of slow starts.

After trailing the San Jose Sharks 3-0 heading into the third period on Thursday, the Oilers scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-3 overtime win.

“Never in doubt,” Kasperi Kapanen said of the result.

“That’s hockey sometimes — you start late. But as the game went on … we knew we had to make a push on the third and this team is always in it. That’s a good example, right there.”

First period lapses have troubled Edmonton (28-19-8) in recent games.

The team gave up three quick first-period goals in a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week and conceded an early strike in a 7-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

Fans at Rogers Place were still filtering to their seats when the Sharks (27-21-4) took a 2-0 lead on Thursday.

Collin Graf scored just 26 seconds into the game, collecting a no-look pass across the slot from Will Smith and blasting it in from the bottom of the faceoff circle.

San Jose took a two-goal lead 1:35 into the first period when Adam Gaudette wrapped a backhanded shot around the outstretched skate of Oilers goalie Connor Ingram.

“Our starts have been not very good,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “The intensity has been there but not the focus and execution.”

Leon Draisaitl sparked Edmonton’s comeback with his 26th goal of the season at the 1:34 mark of the third.

Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard scored at 6-on-5 to level the score at 3-3, and Zach Hyman put away the game winner one minute and six seconds into overtime.

“The positives are that you’re going to be down by two goals in the playoffs, or 3-1 late in the season, and when you (come back) you build that sense that you can do it and you have done it,” Hyman said.

“I think this group is pretty confident that, no matter how we’re playing, we can climb out of a hole.”

That was Ingram’s thought in the Edmonton net.

“When you’ve got some of the best players in the world, they’re going to do their job too,” said the goalie, who made 17 saves on the night. “So, even when you get behind in the start of the game, you’re just thinking, ‘Shut it down, we’ve still got a chance at this.’

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“We can score goals. We can come back on anybody. So, it’s fun to watch from down there. It’s more fun to be on this side.”

GONE STREAKING

Edmonton has now won three games in a row for the first time this season.

The lack of an extended winning streak hasn’t been a topic of discussion in the locker room, Kapanen said.

“Nobody really wants to talk about it, and it’s good that we did it,” he said. “We got that third one out of the way.”

STAR PLAYERS SCORING

Draisaitl had a goal and two assists on Thursday, extending his point streak to three games with 10 points (one goal, nine assists) across the stretch.

McDavid also has points (four goals, five assists) in his last three games after scoring and contributing a helper against the Sharks.

Oilers defenceman Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm have also been hot, with each finding the scoreboard in four straight outings. Bouchard has four goals and seven assists, while Ekholm has three of each.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2026.

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