Edmonton, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - David Perron scored the deciding goal in the third period as the Edmonton Oilers ended an 11-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
Nail Yakupov tallied a power-play goal and Ben Scrivens turned aside 20-of-21 shots for the Oilers, who won their first game since a 3-1 victory over the Rangers on Nov. 9.
"This doesn't mean a lot if we're not going to stick to it," said Scrivens. "We have to replicate that kind of effort night after night."
Edmonton also defeated a Western Conference opponent for the first time this season after starting out 0-12-4.
Tye McGinn provided San Jose's lone goal and Alex Stalock made 22 saves as the Sharks had a four-game winning streak come to an end.
The two teams will play again in San Jose on Tuesday.
Perron's wrist shot from the right circle deflected off San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon and into the net with 9:34 remaining for the deciding marker.
San Jose pulled Stalock with over a minute to play, but Scrivens and the Oilers defense stood tall to earn an elusive win.
After a scoreless first, Jordan Eberle retrieved the rebound of a point blast below the goal line and sent the puck to Yakupov, who wristed a shot on a vacant net 7:45 into the second on the power play.
Patrick Marleau tracked down the puck in the left corner, looked over his shoulder and backhanded a pass to the slot, where McGinn one-timed the puck past Scrivens for a tied game just over two minutes later.
"I just tried to get to the net. Pat is great player, he can find you pretty much anywhere you are on the ice," said McGinn.
Game Notes
Marleau extended his point streak to five games, totaling one goal and six assists in that span ... Scrivens won his first game since a 3-0 shutout against Montreal on Oct. 27, ending a personal nine-game skid of his own ... Stalock started his first game since Nov. 8 ... Marleau had a game-high five shots on net.