Oilers fight Blackhawks at Rexall Place

Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers 2-3 (0-2, 1-1, 1-0)

The Oilers were forced to make changes to the lineup due to Dustin Penner's abdominal injury, shuffling the lines to see Patrick O'Sullivan join Gagner and Hemsky on the 1st line, while Ryan O'Marra drew in as the 4th line right wing. Veteran Nikolai Khabibulin was preferred in net.

Edmonton got off to a blazing start as in-form defenseman Anton Babchuk blasted home a point bomb for the lead after a mere 14 seconds of play. The Blackhawks tried to force their way back into the game, resulting in the first Oilers fight of the year, when Nolan Yonkman took on Ben Eager. Shortly thereafter the Oilers received two minors within seconds of each other, though they were able to kill of the extended 5 on 3 Chicago power play. Turning the tide, they added a power play goal of their own through Ales Hemsky late on.

The home team kept supressing the visitors from the opening of the second period, catching them with some rapid fire. Between changes the 3rd and 4th line combined as Greg Moore scored from Ethan Moreau's pass. Just as the Oilers seemed to be running the sabre through their enemies, Chicago slipped away on a rush and Kris Versteeg wristed home a beauty over Khabibulin's shoulder.

The third started with a full two minute 5 on 3 power play for the Hawks, which was eaten up by a fierce penalty kill and some spectacular netminding from the Bulin Wall. Nevertheless, Chicago managed to draw within one with six minutes to go, Tyler Arnason broke away and scored five hole on Khabibulin. The Oilers played nervously the final minutes, but managed to salvage the three points, having looked very good on special teams in this one.

Post game: Overall a quality effort from most, although Cogliano and Brule had mediocre games.

Scoreboard
1st Period:
EDM - Babchuk (Gagner)
EDM - Hemsky (Gagner, O'Sullivan) PP

2nd Period:
EDM - Moore (Moreau)
CHI - Versteeg (Sharp, Niskala)

3rd Period:
CHI - Arnason (Eager, Blum)


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

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

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Khabibulin
(Hiller)