The two short-handed goals - one by Zack Kassian and the other by Connor McDavid - were all the Oilers needed in a 2-0 victory to even the Western Conference quarter-final series at one game apiece.
Cam Talbot stopped all 16 shots he faced for his first career playoff shutout and Edmonton's first postseason win since 2006.
The Edmonton Oilers said they sold just half of the 250 concourse tickets that were made available for Game 1 against San Jose Sharks Wednesday night.
Kassian scored early in the second period and McDavid added the insurance goal midway through the third period.
Knowing full well that a 2-0 series deficit would pretty much be the end of them (86 per cent of the teams that go up 2-0 go on to win the series), the Oilers showed San Jose that they can turn their game up a notch, too.
"It was one of those things, the puck seemed to follow me tonight".
If the Oilers could get the first ten minutes of Wednesday's game for an entire sixty minutes tonight, things will work out just fine.
Kassian scored 42 seconds into the second frame when Pavelski lost control of the puck at the Oilers blue line.
Blue Jackets' Calvert to face hearing for hit on Kuhnhackl
Calvert delivered a risky blow to Kuhnhackl's shoulder and neck area, breaking his stick over the unsuspecting Penguins forward. Following the cross-check Calvert circled back and checked a still unsuspecting Kuhnhackl, knocking him to the ice.
McDavid said the Oilers were able to settle down after first-game jitters. I definitely felt a little bit of nerves in the first one. "Go back and just play our game".
The Sharks at 9-5 all-time when splitting the first two games of a playoff series. He swiped at the puck with this stick, giving it to Edmonton's Mark Letestu.
Letestu promptly passed it to a streaking Kassian, who barreled in alone and fired a wrist shot low past the blocker of goalie Martin Jones.
The Sharks' power play finished the regular season ranked 25th in the National Hockey League at just 16.7 percent, one of the team's worst percentages over the past 15 years.
Once again, the Oilers had a one-goal lead at the second intermission. He has been day-to-day with a knee injury he suffered April 2. That's baffling for two reasons: 1) Edmonton has every advantage by being the home team (granted that only matters when there's been a whistle) and 2) Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer has been at best ambivalent about line matching in his San Jose tenure.
McDavid, the league's regular-season scoring leader, scored his first NHL playoff goal at the 10:31 mark of the third period, streaking down the left side and launching a short-side wrist shot that eluded Jones.
The Oilers, as well as Edmonton police, said fans were respectful and generally well-behaved during and after Game 1.
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