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SAN JOSE — Joe Thornton gave Sharks territory a scare Sunday when he sat on the bench for the last 1:47 of Game 3 with the extra attacker on the ice in his return from a left knee injury.

But the angst quickly turned to hope Tuesday after Thornton recorded an assist in Game4, led the team in shot attempts percentage (77.8 percent) and looked every bit like the Jumbo Joe that the teal faithful has come to know over the last 12 seasons.

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Sharks reach agreement with depth centerman on two-year deal Logan Couture also took significant strides toward regaining his top game, scoring a pair of goals in the Sharks 7-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the SAP Center.

“Every game I play now I’m going to get better and just continue to get stronger,” Thornton said. “I took another step tonight.”

The Sharks chances of advancing past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs always depended on the health of Thornton and Logan Couture. With contributions from both players Tuesday, the team that looked like Western Conference favorites as recently as March 15 has suddenly been resurrected with the series tied 2-2.

“You knew they were going to come through eventually,” Chris Tierney said. “They were going to be a little rusty, and they started a little slow, but you see the games they had tonight and how big of an impact they can make on this team.”

Whether it was conditioning or a minor setback that kept Thornton off the ice in the final minutes of Game 3, the 37-year-old veteran does appear to be making significant improvements every day.

Thornton played with the jump he showed in the first period Sunday throughout his 14:43 of ice time. He was on pace to eclipse his season average ice time of 18:04 through two periods, but head coach Pete DeBoer cut his minutes once the game got out of hand in the third.

Couture also played his best game of series, scoring a power play goal in the first just one shift after he took a high stick to the teeth that required him to leave the ice twice to get his mouth numbed.

The 28-year-old center added a second goal later in the game, recording a 52.9 percent shot attempts percentage. More importantly, he was winning battles along the boards on both sides of the puck, an indication that his tenacious two-way game is rounding back into form.

“He’s feeling more comfortable,” Thornton said. “Games 1 or 2, he hadn’t played in a long time, too, so he’s getting more confident as the series goes on.”

With the steps that Thornton and Couture took in Game 4, the Oilers are probably even more regretful that they let a 2-0 lead slip away in Game 1 when both players were hobbled by injuries. Instead of taking a 3-1 series lead back to Edmonton Wednesday, they’re now caught in a best of three against a team that knows how to win big games in the spring.

The big dogs eat

When a reporter suggested to Todd McLellan that the Sharks offense, “woke up a little bit,” in Game 4, the Oilers head coach cut him off.

“A little bit?” McLellan asked. “Let’s call it how it was — it was a lot.”

After receiving just one point out of the Fab Five over the first three games of the series, Thornton, Couture, Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski combined for five goals and 11 points in Game 4.

The Sharks power play is still loaded with talent

The numbers speak for themselves.

The Sharks entered the playoffs with the lowest ranked power play among the 16 teams in the tournament (25th) and they entered Game 4 converting at just a 7.1 percent clip, failing to capitalize on the 14 minor penalties that the Oilers committed in just three games.

But whenever you throw Thornton, Burns, Pavelski, Marleau and Couture on the ice together, something can happen at any moment. It did Tuesday night as the team set a new franchise record with four power play goals in a game.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that as our key guys are getting healthier and feeling better we’re starting to look better in that area,” head coach Pete DeBoer said.

DeBoer has the magic touch

DeBoer didn’t show up on the scoresheet Tuesday, but he should be credited with an assist for igniting the Sharks offense with some clever line tinkering.

The Sharks coach shuffled up his top three lines in Game 4, striking the right note up and down the lineup. The top line came to life with Marleau skating on Thornton and Pavelski’s left wing, a trio that found success together during the first half of the season.

Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier gave Sharks fans a glimpse into the future, forming a power duo alongside Melker Karlsson on the third line, while Couture, Jannik Hansen and Joel Ward served as DeBoer’s shutdown combination.

With a new lineup, the Sharks held the possession edge with eight of their 12 forwards being above 50 percent on the shot attempts ledger.

Earth to McDavid

After the Sharks spent two days answering questions about their anemic offense, the focus now shifts to the Oilers and 20-year-old phenom Connor McDavid.

The Sharks kept McDavid, who entered the series with a 14-game point streak, off the board for a second-consecutive game Tuesday. McDavid’s yet to record an even strength point in the series, a key reason why the Oilers have only scored two even strength goals.

Without production from McDavid, the Oilers are in trouble because they don’t have the depth to keep up with the Sharks four lines if Thornton and Couture return to form .