SAN JOSE — The Sharks certainly would have loved to earn home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Just as important was playing well against another Western Conference playoff opponent.
The Sharks mostly put out the effort they wanted Thursday but didn’t get the result, as Milan Lucic’s third period hat trick gave the Edmonton Oilers a 4-2 win.
The Sharks were burned by their own penalties, as Lucic scored twice in the power play in the third, including an insurance goal with 3:29 to go.
The Sharks needed a win to keep alive any realistic hope of starting the postseason on home ice.