Oilers host Panthers at Rexall

Florida Panthers vs Edmonton Oilers 2-6 (1-1, 0-2, 1-3)

The Oilers made just one change to the lineup that slipped away with two points against the Stars on Sunday, benching netminder Jonas Hiller in favour of Nikolai Khabibulin.

The Oilers continued the positives from last game early, netting a power play goal on only their third shot of th game - as Babchuk sprang Moore on a breakaway when the reigning Stanley Cup champions were making a line change. Despite being able to fight off the Panthers for most of the first, seeing Khabibulin and the goal post take care of business for 18 minutes, the Oilers allowed Radek Dvorak to skate into the slot and score a relatively easy one timer late on.

After a questionable start to the season, gifted winger Ales Hemsky is coming along - he gave the Oilers the lead again, following a nice cycle down low involving Gagner and Penner, who dished a cross-crease pass to Hemsky who potted his second of the year. Five minutes later, the Oilers continue their refreshing efforts on the power play, Brooks Laich sniping home the 3-1 goal.

Sun Tzu said, "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence, supreme excellence consists in breaking your enemy's resistance without fighting". Clearly, the Oilers chose to fight and conquer, and the Panthers seemed broken in the process. Gagner took advantage of a poorly controlled rebound from Vokoun, blasting one home for a comfortable 4-1 lead. Nevertheless, comfort is a feeling, not a state, and the Oilers were painfully reminded of that a mere minute later when Radek Dvorak scored his second of the night. The steam rolling Oilers were not deterred, however, and thrilled their fans by creating an additional two goals before full time, stringing together two wins for the third time this season.

Post game: The Oilers won in a most convincing fashion, pummeling Vokoun with 50 shots, allowing just 22 on Khabibulin. They went 3/7 on the power play, killing off both Panthers' man advantages. Star forward Ales Hemsky had a 4 point night, and Anton Babchuk is starting to seem like a marquee defenseman, having tallied 11 points in as many games this far. "Thrilling for us on the bench, enthralling for the fans" Oilers GM Kowalski summed up the game, adding that the improved special teams has given the team an extra boost.



Scoreboard
1st Period:
EDM - Moore (Babchuk, Hemsky) PP
FLA - Dvorak (Booth, McCabe)

2nd Period:
EDM - Hemsky (Penner, Gagner)
EDM - Laich (O'Sullivan, Gilbert) PP

3rd Period:
EDM - Gagner (Penner, Babchuk)
FLA - Dvorak (Weiss, Olesz)
EDM - Babchuk (Hemsky) PP
EDM - Penner (Gagner, Hemsky)



Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

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

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Yonkman

Khabibulin
(Hiller)