Kevin Labanc gives Sharks overtime win against Oilers

SAN JOSE --Rookie forward Kevin Labanc scored his second goal of the night at 3:22 of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on Friday.
Labanc took a pass from Logan Couture and beat goaltender Cam Talbot from close range inside the right post to win it.
"It was just a really good forecheck by Logan," Labanc said. "He was in there. I was just kind of left alone. I saw that the goalie's glove was a little bit down, so I knew I was going to shoot there. It was a good way to end the game."

WATCH: All Oilers vs. Sharks highlights
Labanc, 21, whose 127 points for Barrie led the Ontario Hockey League last season, has six goals and two assists in 21 games since being called up from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League on Nov. 8.
"Every time he plays, he impresses and you gain more and more trust in his abilities and what he can do," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's got some special talents."

Joe Pavelski also scored, and Martin Jones made 16 saves for San Jose.
Connor McDavid and Pat Maroon scored for Edmonton, and Talbot made 28 saves.
The Sharks (21-12-1, 43 points) enter the Christmas break in first place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the second-place Oilers (18-12-6).
"This couple-day break is definitely going to feel a lot better," San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "We'll be able to rest a little easier and let the body kind of recharge."
The Sharks, who are 6-1-0 in their past seven games, ended the Oilers winning streak at three.
"We clawed our way just to stay alive," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. "We were never in that game. They were better than us in every facet of the game. It was a disappointing performance, but we'll steal the point and move on."

Pavelski gave San Jose a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the second period when he scored on the power play from the left faceoff circle. Defenseman Brent Burns earned his 300th NHL assist on the goal, Pavelski's 12th of the season, and Joe Thornton got his 700th assist with the Sharks.
McDavid scored his 13th goal at 6:17 of the third period to tie it 1-1. He got the puck in the neutral zone, skated to the right circle, and scored on a wrist shot that got past Jones after bouncing off the skates of Sharks defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun.
It ended a six-game goal drought for McDavid, whose 42 points lead the NHL.
San Jose regained the lead when Labanc took a cross-ice pass from Couture and scored from the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush at 8:21 to make it 2-1.
But Maroon scored his 10th goal 24 seconds later to tie it 2-2, taking a cross-ice pass from McDavid on an odd-man rush and beating Jones from the right circle at 8:45.

Goal of the game

Pavelski took a pass from Burns in the left circle and beat Talbot with a one-timer to the short side early in the second period to open the scoring.

Save of the game

Talbot made a sprawling glove save to rob Sharks forward Melker Karlsson on a shorthanded breakaway at 7:37 of the first period.

Unsung performance of the game

The Sharks penalty kill was 6-for-6 against the Oilers power play, which was fifth in the NHL entering Friday (22.3 percent).

Highlight of the game

Couture set up Labanc's overtime goal with a pinpoint pass from below the goal line. "I went to battle for it and I turned around, took a peak out of the corner of my eye, and saw that their two guys had left the zone," Couture said. "[Labanc] was yelling for the puck, so I found him all alone."

They said it

"It was only a month or six weeks ago that we were sitting around .500. I think we talked as a group about finishing strong going into the Christmas break, and they've earned it. We haven't had an easy schedule, and it has not been easy. But we got contributions from almost the entire organization to get here. It will be nice to put your feet up for a couple a days in first place, because I think of how we played so far. I think we belong here." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"If you told us at the beginning of the year that we'd be sitting in second place in the Pacific Division down by one point, I think everyone in here would have taken that. It's time to enjoy a nice break, get energized and focused, and come back ready to go." -- Oilers center Connor McDavid

Need to know

Sharks forward Joel Ward, who was a healthy scratch in two of the three previous games, returned to the lineup, replacing Tommy Wingels on the fourth line. ... Oilers forward Taylor Beck played his third game of the season, replacing Jesse Puljujarvi in the lineup. He played 4:12.

What's next

Oilers:Host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SN, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)