Edmonton Oilers vs Colorado Avalanche 2-1 (0-1, 1-0, 1-0)
Edmonton iced the same lineup as in the first three games, and they were yet again unable to score first. Derek Morris caught a break when his long range effort trickled by Khabibulin ten minutes into the first period. Still, the Oilers were clearly the better team during the first, amassing a sizeable shot advantage, but Evgeni Nabokov was steady in net.
The Avalanche continued to withdraw into their own zone during the opening minutes of the second, and Edmonton finally took advantage through a power play goal from O'Sullivan. The solid play of the visitors continued, though they were fortunate when Wolski first missed a wide open net, then proceeded to take a hooking penalty in hopes to regain possession.
Mary Case noted that with "No pressure, no diamonds." The Oilers kept up the pressure and Andrew Cogliano provided the coal Brooks Laich turned into a gem during a power play in the third. This was the first Oilers lead away from home in the season. Matt Lashoff's penalty in after 57 minutes turned control over the diamond mine to the Avalanche, but production halted due to a marvellous penalty kill effort by Moreau/Laich.
Post-game: "This was our first dominant effort so far, we could have won this one by four or five with more finish" commented head coach Kevin Constantine in the post-game interview, and added "but that may also be our biggest concern right now" Whether GM Kowalski is or will scan the market for a goal scorer is too early to tell, but the Oilers looked a competitive team, allowing a mere 20 shots while releasing over 35 themselves, many of which from good positions.
Scoreboard
1st Period:
COL - Morris (Torres, Duchene)
2nd Period:
EDM - O'Sullivan (Penner, Babchuk) PP
3rd Period:
EDM - Laich (Cogliano, Gilbert) PP
Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-
Lines:
Penner - O'Sullivan - Hemsky
Cogliano - Laich - Skille
Axelsson - Stone - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra
Babchuk - Visnovsky
Lashoff - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Smid
Khabibulin
(Hiller)
0 comments:
Post a Comment