Karlsson extends assist streak to 14 in Sharks victory against Oilers

SAN JOSE -- Erik Karlsson became the fifth defenseman in NHL history with at least one assist in 14 straight games he played, and the San Jose Sharks extended their winning streak to four with a 7-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on Tuesday.

Karlsson had three assists and has 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) in his past 14 games for the Sharks (25-13-7).
Karlsson joined Paul Coffey (17 games, Nov. 27, 1985-Jan. 2, 1986), Brian Leetch (15 games, Nov. 29-Dec. 31, 1991), Bobby Orr (14 games, Dec. 13, 1970-Jan. 14, 1971) and Phil Housley (14 games, Dec. 26, 1992-Jan. 19, 1993) in that group.
"He's been great," Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. "He's really established his game in our structure. Everybody feels pretty comfortable playing with him because he makes those plays and he makes the outlet pass and he's got that speed coming out of our end with it. He's been a big piece to our success lately."
WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Sharks highlights]
Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi each scored two goals, and Brent Burns had a goal and an assist. Marcus Sorensen and Joe Thornton also scored, and Aaron Dell made 20 saves for the Sharks.
Alex Chiasson and Milan Lucic scored for Edmonton (20-20-3). Cam Talbot gave up four goals on 17 shots and was replaced by Mikko Koskinen at 7:54 of the second period. Koskinen made 16 saves.
The Sharks defeated the Oilers for a second straight time. They also won 7-4 on Dec. 29 at Rogers Place.
"They were attacking us," Edmonton coach Ken Hitchcock said. "That's two games in a row they've owned us in front of the net, in the slot, and they knocked us out of the box. That's a damn good team. They owned us in what I call critical ice; the areas you score in.
"We had our chances and they got sticks on the puck or got deflections. They played better than we did in those critical zones."

Karlsson had three assists for the second straight game and has eight in his past three games.
"It's been a blast," said Brenden Dillon, Karlsson's defense partner. "I've been a lucky guy to get to play with him. He's a superstar and one of the best in the world for a reason."
Kane gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 6:37 when his pass deflected off Oilers defenseman Caleb Jones' skate in the slot.
Sorensen made it 2-0 with a penalty shot at 12:57 after Edmonton defenseman Alexander Petrovic held him on a breakaway.
The Oilers cut it to 2-1 on Chiasson's power-play goal at 14:35, but Donskoi made it 3-1 at 15:24 on a backhand through the five-hole.
The third line of Donskoi, Kane and center Tomas Hertl combined for four goals and two assists. Hertl moved from left wing on the second line to third-line center seven games ago.
"I think this is probably his best stretch at center," Pavelski said. "So that's good to see. He's just playing with confidence, and his linemates are going good. They're playing with a lot of speed and holding onto pucks."

Kane increased San Jose's lead to 4-1 at 6:32 of the second period. Burns' pass in front of the crease banked off Kane's left skate and over the goal line.
"We needed to respond through the bad bounces," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "We've had two good games and two bad games on this road trip. We have to find that consistency again. There were not a lot of positives in this one."
Lucic scored his second goal of the season at 10:18 with a wrist shot on a rush, cutting San Jose's lead to 4-2 and ending his 41-game goal drought.
Burns scored on the power play at 15:37, giving San Jose a 5-2 lead, Thornton extended it to 6-2 at 1:04 of the third, and Donskoi scored on a rebound at 10:44 to make it 7-2.

They said it

"They were all over us. They made it hard for us. We have to be a lot better in certain areas." -- Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson
"He's just a world-class player. He's as good in our end as he is in the offensive zone. What a lot of people don't see is how vocal he is on the bench. And in our locker room too. You can tell why he's been a captain in Ottawa, and he's brought that leadership here. You can see his game going to the next level, both offensively and defensively." -- Sharks assistant coach Steve Spott on defenseman Erik Karlsson

Need to know

Nugent-Hopkins had an assist in his 500th NHL game. … Oilers forward Connor McDavid had an assist and has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past eight games. … The Oilers have allowed at least four goals in eight of their past 10 games. … Sharks coach Peter DeBoer missed the game because of an illness. … Sharks defensemen Justin Braun (knee) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (wrist) each missed their third straight game. … Donskoi has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in his past seven games.

What's next

Oilers:Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Sharks:At the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)