Blackwood makes 39 saves, Sharks hold off Oilers

SAN JOSE -- Mackenzie Blackwood made 39 saves, and the San Jose Sharks handed the Edmonton Oilers their fourth straight loss, 3-2 at SAP Center on Thursday.

"He's so confident," San Jose center Tomas Hertl said of Blackwood. "It's easy to play in front of him, because if we make a mistake, he's here for us. The games we lost, that wasn't on him. He's been right there from Day One, and the last two games he's been amazing."

Hertl and Fabian Zetterlund each had a goal and an assist, and Filip Zadina scored for the Sharks (2-10-1), who won their second straight after winning their first game of the season Tuesday, 2-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

"This group has been through a lot, they've taken a lot of emotional punches to the gut," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "I'm pretty proud of our group for dusting themselves off and showing a lot of mental fortitude and toughness to put two good games together."

Darnell Nurse and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored, and Stuart Skinner allowed three goals on 18 shots for the Oilers (2-9-1), who have lost eight of nine (1-7-1).

Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said he is not concerned about his job security. The Oilers and Sharks are tied for the fewest points in the NHL (five).

“No, I worry about taking care of my daily business and my daily process, and making sure that I give my players something to focus on and concentrate on,” Woodcroft said. “No one’s happy with where we’re at. We all own it. We can better, and that’s where my focus is.”

Nugent-Hopkins also addressed his team’s struggles.

"When you go through tough stretches, it's the easy thing just to quit on each other, and that's not what this group is about," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Unfortunately, we've gone through this before in the past, and we found ways out. Start of the season feels a little different, but regardless, we've been through it before."

Fabian Zetterlund gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 18:35 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot after Hertl’s pass from behind the net.

Nurse tied it 1-1 at 1:56 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle.

"You've got to take the good parts out of that game and bring it forward," Woodcroft said. "At the same time, you've got to limit some of the costly errors that end up in our net."

Hertl put the San Jose back ahead 2-1 at 9:05 when he scored on a loose puck in front of the net.

"He really took charge," Quinn said of Hertl. "I loved his puck play. He was physical, right in the right place defensively."

Zadina extended it to 3-1 at 1:53 of the third period after Nico Sturm set him up with a cross-ice pass.

"What I liked about the last two games is that when we gave up a goal, before (prior to Tuesday) the wheels would come off," Sturm said. "Whether we scored one or gave one up, I think we stayed on course with how we wanted to play, and that's obviously a good sign for our team."

Nugent-Hopkins made it 3-2 at 17:34 after Skinner was pulled for an extra attacker. He was set up in front of the net by Evan Bouchard.

"It's a tough league," Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl said. "Guys played hard. Obviously, not too many guys in this room that have confidence right now. I'm part of that group. I just keep trying to get better every day."

NOTES: Oilers center Connor McDavid has gone seven games without a goal. He has five assists in that span. … Hertl scored his 205th NHL goal and had his 108th multipoint game, one shy of tying Owen Nolan in both categories on the Sharks' all-time lists... Darnell Nurse scored his 69th career goal. His next would make him the fourth defenseman in Oilers history to score 70, joining Paul Coffey (209), Charlie Huddy (81) and Kevin Lowe (74).