By Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti ):
After being seen getting picked up at the airport by teammate center Joe Thornton, left-wing forward Evander Kane settled in nicely to his new teal attire and helped the Sharks defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2.
Kane was picked up by the Sharks in a trade package that also included a conditional first round pick. Despite pending UFA, the former Buffalo Sabres player may be signing with San Jose come the 2018-19 season.
San Jose’s (34-21-9) matchup against its former coach Todd McLellan’s team, Edmonton (27-32-4), marked Kane’s first game donning the Sharks’ sweater.
The 26-year-old forward wasted no time digging his skates into SAP Center, taking the game by storm and showing his new fans what he is made of.
In his first game as a Shark, Kane assisted two of the five goals San Jose saw netted on the night. In addition, the forward also had two shots on goal, four hits and one blocked shot against Oilers’ goalie Cam Talbot.
After a scoreless first period for the Sharks, right-wing forwards Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier, left-wing forward Logan Couture and defenseman Justin Braun brought San Jose up from its one goal deficit in the second period. Pavelski and Braun were assisted by Kane.
In the last minute of the game, captain Pavelski shot into Edmonton’s empty net to give the Sharks their fifth and final goal of the night, ending their three-game losing streak.
San Jose goaltender Martin Jones made 24 saves on 26 shots only allowing goals to Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Jesse Puljujarvi.
The Sharks stay home this week as they host the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night at 7 p.m.