Oilers beat Sharks 3-1 for fourth straight win

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Vasily Podkolzin and Alex Formenton scored 2:27 apart in the third period Saturday as the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 for their fourth straight win.

Mattias Ekholm opened the scoring with a slap shot from the blue line at 12:37 of the first period. Podkolzin made it 2-0 at 3:13 of the third with a one-timer set up by Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard, and Formenton scored on a backhand breakaway at 5:40 for his first goal as an Oiler.

Tristan Jarry made 19 saves in his first start for Edmonton since opening night. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 17 shots for San Jose.

“I think we just played a simple game,” Jarry said, according to the NHL.com game recap.

Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini cut the lead to 3-1 at 11:19 of the third period for his first goal of the season. He returned to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury. San Jose could not complete the comeback.

McDavid’s assist on Podkolzin’s goal gave him 13 points, including 10 assists, through five games, and he moved ahead of Jack Eichel for the NHL lead in both categories, The Associated Press reported.

Bouchard has 12 points (six goals, six assists) through five games, according to NHL.com. That matches the best total by a defenceman through five games in NHL history, set by Morgan Rielly.

Podkolzin extended his point streak to five games, the longest of his career, NHL.com reported. Ekholm’s 31st goal as an Oiler tied Jason Smith for 17th among franchise defencemen.

The Oilers improved to 4-0-1, their best start since 2021-22, when they opened 5-0-0.

Edmonton finishes its three-game road trip Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. The Sharks host the Boston Bruins the same night.

File photo: Connor McDavid controls the puck against the Washington Capitals, Feb. 2, 2022. Not from Saturday’s game. Photo by Brian Murphy (All-Pro Reels), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Sources: NHL.com game recap (Oct. 10, 2026) and The Associated Press.