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Thursday, Oct. 7 10:30pm ET
Ricci's 2nd goal gives Sharks OT win | |||||
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BOX SCORE
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- A push in the back was just the break the San Jose Sharks needed to extend their best start ever.
Mike Ricci scored his second goal of the night on a power play with 1:16 remaining in overtime as the Sharks opened the season with three straight wins for the first time in their eight-year history by beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 Thursday night. Ricci's winning score came after Josef Beranek, who had scored Edmonton's tying goal, checked rookie Brad Stuart into the boards with two seconds remaining in regulation. Beranek was penalized for checking from the back and given a game misconduct. "I was going back for the puck and suddenly I got hit from behind," Stuart said. "I kind of felt it coming and I turned a bit and that prevented me from getting creamed. I wasn't glad they got me, but I'll take the penalty, because we can use anything we can to get the win." Edmonton coach Kevin Lowe was unhappy with the call. "That could be the understatement of the year," said Lowe, who heatedly shared his opinion with the officials. "That was a bit of a knee-jerk response. I was trying to be fairly descriptive of my opinion on what happened and I'll leave it at that. It wasn't the way we saw it but that's the way it goes." With the man advantage, San Jose outshot Edmonton 7-1 in the extra period with Ricci putting the final shot past goaltender Bill Ranford after Niklas Sundstrom's rebound plopped in front of him right next to the net. "I was amazed it landed it front of me," Ricci said. "All I had to do was just tap it in." Despite the loss, Edmonton got a point out of the game under the NHL's new scoring rules. Teams that finish regulation in a tie are guaranteed one point just to get to OT. "It was disappointing for our guys to lose but the one consolation is we get a point out of it which we wouldn't have gotten last year," Lowe said. The Oilers had a great scoring chance in the final five minutes of regulation when Paul Comrie stole the puck near his own blue line. He accelerated down center ice only to be caught from behind near the net by Stuart, who got his stick in front of Comrie and knocked the puck away. San Jose also had a solid chance at winning it near the end of regulation, but Ricci's wraparound shot with 1:18 in regulation slipped across the goal mouth just wide of the net. Trailing 2-0, Edmonton scored twice in a 2½-minute span of the final period to tie it up. Todd Marchant finished a breakaway with his first goal of the season, driving the puck beneath goaltender Steve Shields' knees before he could drop down to the ice for the block. The Oilers were on the power play when Josef Beranek put in his first goal with 13:41 remaining to even the score. He was in the slot and redirected Roman Hamrlik's shot through Shields' legs. San Jose was in control for much of the game, moving in front 2-0 when Owen Nolan converted his fifth goal of the season, a power-play score with 17:30 left. Nolan has scored at least one goal in each of San Jose's first three games. The Sharks broke through for their first goal midway through the opening period when Ricci beat Ranford off a feed from Marco Sturm. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Edmonton Clubhouse San Jose Clubhouse RECAPS Ottawa 4 Boston 3
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