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 A native of nearby Pleasanton, Calif., Tennyson spent his early
years playing two seasons with the Junior Sharks, and he became the
youth program's first product to score an NHL goal while in the
uniform of the San Jose Sharks.
"It was always George Gund's dream to have a Junior Shark score for
the Sharks," Wilson said of the team's late original owner. "That
was a very special moment."
It was a pretty big moment, too, when Tennyson's slap shot from the
right circle whizzed past Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens at 8:29 of the
third period on the power play to tie the game 3-3. The hosts
battled back twice to earn a seventh consecutive home win and their
eighth victory in nine games overall.
"Actually, I saw (Sharks center James) Sheppard coming in, and I was
trying to go off of the far pad," Tennyson said. "It's always good
to get that out of the way, it was a goal to tie it up, so all the
better." Tennyson's goal provided a spark that fellow rookie Barclay Goodrow
fed off of to score the game-winner 34 seconds later on a great
individual effort that started with a pinpoint stretch pass from
defenseman Brent Burns.
Goodrow, a left winger, broke in with Edmonton defenseman Justin
Schultz in hot pursuit and managed to sweep a low shot past Scrivens
at 9:03 to bring the 17,399 fans out of their seats.
"When I got the puck, I figured one guy would catch me," Goodrow
said. "I just tried to fend him off as best I could. I was yelling,
and (Burns) made a great pass up the middle."
The Sharks (18-11-4) moved past idle the Vancouver Canucks into
second place in the Pacific Division, while the last-place Oilers
(7-20-6) saw their recent winless streak stretch to six games,
0-5-1.
"I thought we played pretty hard," Oilers interim coach Todd Nelson
said. "I thought we competed hard. We scored goals the way we have
to. I thought it was a good effort by everybody. It's a start, and
we're moving in the right direction."
The Sharks tightened up the rest of the way after Goodrow tiebreaker
and watched as goalie Antti Niemi made several key saves on a night
when he struggled with rebound control.
"(It was a) resilient game. When we got down, we had the confidence
to come back," Sharks right winger Tommy Wingels said. "There's a
reason we play 60 minutes here. ... The team fought back. I thought
special teams were pretty good, and we got goals from different guys
in the lineup."
The teams scored two goals each in the middle period -- coming on
consecutive shots for each -- as the Oilers took a 3-2 lead after 40
minutes.
Goodrow's perfect feed from behind the net enabled a crashing
Sheppard to score his first goal in 18 games at 5:51 to tie it 1-1.
Center Logan Couture scored his 13th goal on San Jose's next shot at
7:36 with a splendid snap shot from the right dot into the top far
corner of the net.
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Just 47 seconds later, Edmonton's fourth-line right winger Steven
Pinizzotto scored in close, and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tallied
on Edmonton's next shot at 9:59 to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
Edmonton scored the only goal of a disjointed opening period in
which both teams were credited with eight shots on goal. Oilers
center Boyd Gordon scored his fifth goal of the season at 14:43 in
his first game back after missing five straight with a back injury.
"We're right there, chomping at the bit," Pinizzotto said. "We're
not getting blown (out), and the boys are starting to come together
now. Everyone is playing well. Now we have to figure out a way to
get on the other side of that."
Wingels said of the Oilers, "They're playing desperate right now.
They went through a coaching change, and I think pretty much
everything is on the table when an organization goes through
something like that. That being said, we worry about our game. It
took 60 minutes tonight."
NOTES: Edmonton's only win in its last 17 games came Dec. 11 against
San Jose. ... The Sharks were coming off as many as four idle nights
for the first time this season. ... San Jose G Antti Niemi made his
300th career start. ... The Sharks cap a five-game homestand, and a
stretch of 11 of 13 at home, Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
... Edmonton opens a two-game homestand Sunday against Dallas. ...
Sharks RW Matt Nieto (ankle) continues to skate on his own without
full pads. He missed his sixth straight game Thursday and is
expected to remain out until after Christmas. ... LW Tye McGinn, D
Mirco Mueller and D Matt Irwin were healthy scratches for San Jose,
while LW Luke Gazdic, D Keith Aulie and D Brandon Davidson did not
dress for Edmonton. ... The Oilers announced Thursday they will end
their AHL affiliation with the Oklahoma Barons, who in turn will
cease operations at season's end.
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