Oilers bite Sharks in shootout win

Gagner scores only goal of skills competition

Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers shoots on goal against the San Jose Sharks 

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Give Devan Dubnyk a shootout and his eyes light up.

“I really like them … I take a lot of pride in stopping shootouts,” said the Edmonton Oilers goalie, who stopped all three shootout attempts by Joe Pavelski, Michal Handzus and Brent Burns on Tuesday to give his club a 3-2 victory over the playoff-scrambling Sharks in San Jose.

Dubnyk has won four of five shootouts this season, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins on opening night, the Sharks at Rexall Place in January and the Detroit Red Wings. His only setback came against the Vancouver Canucks, but he made the saves look easy in this one. Pavelski and Handzus tried to go five-hole, and Burns, who was a forward at one time, didn’t really get much on his attempt.

“He kind of lost control of the puck … but he’s a highly skilled guy,” said Dubnyk.

Dubnyk also beat the Sharks 2-1 with Jordan Eberle getting the deciding goal in the shootout on Jan. 23, so he has denied the Sharks two big points.

After Eberle, who earlier had scored 10 seconds into the game — the second fastest goal off an opening faceoff in history — hit the post on a backhand shootout try, Sam Gagner buried his 15-footer, beating Antti Niemi on a quick wrister.

“I’ve gone to the deke on all the other ones and wanted to keep this one simpler,” said Gagner, who was kicking himself at the end of the first period when Taylor Hall found him alone, only to have his shot rip past the post.

The Oilers lost the first game of the season series in San Jose 3-2 on a Patrick Marleau winner on Dec. 17, but stuck a knife in the Sharks’ playoff hopes with the victory. San Jose has only won two of its last 11 games and are still clinging to eighth place in the Western Conference with 74 points. The Sharks are tied with the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche, but they have games in hand on the other clubs.

Dubnyk got the Oilers to overtime when he robbed Marleau on a three-on-two with Pavelski and Joe Thornton with 3-1/2 minutes left in the third. The Oilers goalie slid across to get the right pad down to rob Marleau, who was playing his 1,100th game.

“I was just trying to keep my feet on the play and get across at the last second. When Pavelski got it Thornton, I know he likes to pass,” said Dubnyk, who gave up a ripper to Jim Vandermeer in the first period and one to Ryane Clowe in the second on a bobble behind the net. He admitted he’d like the Clowe goal back after his miscue with Theo Peckham on a Logan Couture dump-in. But Vandermeer’s shot came off his stick like he was Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos.

“Hey, Jim Vandermeer? That was a tough shot,” said Dubnyk laughing. He played with Vandermeer last year, the last time he scored an NHL goal (March 1, 2011, against the Nashville Predators). “I felt it hit me on the way in. What can I say? Heavy shot.”

After Clowe’s lucky goal, Ryan Smyth tied it 54 seconds later. Jeff Petry’s shot bounced off Smyth’s chest and pinballed by Niemi.

“I thought that was the key to the game. We came right back after they scored and kept the puck in for about 30 seconds and got the goal,” said Gagner.

Eberle slipped one past Niemi 10 for his 30th of the season after Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle bobbled a shoot-in by Ryan Whitney and the puck fell graciously right onto Eberle’s stick. Oilers team record, right? Nope. It’s tough to set any Oilers records with Wayne Gretzky on the scene. No. 99 scored eight seconds into a 9-4 rout of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in December 1983.

“When it went in I was wondering if it was the fastest goal,” admitted Eberle, who laughed when told Gretzky had one two seconds quicker.

“Those guys are tough to beat for any records,” said the winger, one of only two Oilers to score at least 30 goals in the last five years. Dustin Penner is the other one, if you’re a history buff.

ON THE BENCH: The Oilers sat Darcy Hordichuk, Andy Sutton and Cam Barker. Peckham was in the third defence pair, his first game since Jan. 31 against Colorado. He had been on IR for a time with facial contusions but had been a healthy scratch for a couple of weeks … Sharks forward Patrick Marleau played his 1,100th game. Only Nick Lidstrom (Detroit), Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames), Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators) and Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) have played more games, starting with their organizations.