Oilers face Stars in Texas

Edmonton Oilers vs Dallas Stars 4-3 (0-0, 1-1, 3-2)

The Oilers made no changes to the lineup that lost 3-1 against the Coyotes and went into their 10th game of the season with a 5-4-0 record, hoping to stand up against the Stars and their 6-2-2. In the pre-game interview, GM Morgan Kowalski noted that the empoverished Oilers power play (10,9% at the time) was being worked on in practice, acknowledging that their position in the standings could have been significantly better had the Oilers been able to convert more of their man advantages.

The Oilers seemed to have caught the rabies in Arizona, coming out as ghastly beasts in the first period - running at the Stars whenever possible. Though they enjoyed a 14-5 shot advantage after 20 minutes, there was no goals on the board for either team.

Edmonton finally broke a 9 game curse by scoring the opening goal of the night, produced through a nice combination between Brule and Cogliano before Laich was set up for the easy tap in. Alas, it was the special teams that failed the Oilers yet again. After having completed their 19th consecutive goalless power play, the Stars scored on their second attempt of the night - Ribeiro the perpetrator of that robbery.

The Oilers finally cracked the power play code early in the third, Patrick O'Sullivan pounced on a rebound to make it 2-1. Having done that, they added another on the man advantage shortly after, Sam Gagner tallying his second of the year. It is hard to say 'unfortunately' because it had nothing to do with fortune at this point, but the Oilers penalty killing woes had not been solved, as proven by a quick duce by Neal and Richards on consecutive Dallas power plays - the game was level after the Oilers had dominated so far. There was but eleven seconds to go when Gilbert Brule took the stage as this episode's deus ex machinae, emerging from nowhere to steal 2 points for the Oilers - deflating the entire state of Texas in the process!

Post game: "I am concerned with our inability to put away games we control, much as last time against Phoenix we were wasteful with our opportunities" said a critical head coach Kevin Constantine after the game, though he could not hide his joy over Brule's later winner: "It saved the boys a bag skate, certainly".
Jonas Hiller registered his first ever Oilers win, while the second line received praise for their emphatic play.

Scoreboard
1st Period:
-

2nd Period:
EDM - Laich (Brule, Cogliano)
DAL - Ribeiro (Neal, Lehtinen) PP

3rd Period:
EDM - O'Sullivan (Visnovsky, Laich) PP
EDM - Gagner (Hemsky, Babchuk) PP
DAL - Neal (Ribeiro, Lehtinen) PP
DAL - Richards (Eriksson) PP
EDM - Brule (Cogliano)


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - Brule
Axelsson - Stone - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Sullivan

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Hiller
(Khabibulin)