Oilers subdue Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche vs Edmonton Oilers 0-3 (0-0, 0-3, 0-0)

The Oilers continued their home stand with a back-to-back matchup against divisional rivals Colorado, who were on the outside of the playoffs by 4 points when nine games remained. Edmonton opted to start struggling netminder Jonas Hiller, who had conceded 3 or more goals in all but one of his last six starts. Anton Krysanov and Nolan Yonkman were healthy scratches, while Patrick O'Sullivan was still listed as day-to-day with a groin strain.

An evenly matched first period saw Edmonton asmass the most shots during the first ten minutes, before the Avalanche got their share of the puck to level the shot charts on eight a piece, but neither team managed to break the deadlock.

Adolf Hitler once remarked: "What luck for rulers that men do not think." Matt Duchene reflected a much different light on leadership when he twice broke up odd man rushes on Budaj - and Colorado had presented a rare display of discipline that far. Sadly for the away fans, former Oiler Marc Andre Bergeron nullified their hard work by taking a double minor mid-way through the period. After struggling to find the net in the first half of the game, both Eric Tangradi and Dustin Penner beat Budaj during that 4 minute power play. The momentum swing allowed Edmonton to win battles they had previously lost and it led to Moore's goal two minutes before the intermission, when Axelsson fought Yandle off the puck - feeding Gagner who found Moore with an almost empty cage to shoot at.

The teams went back into the trenches in the third, and only the occasional bugle call led to a charge. Jonas Hiller, manning the defenses, kept the enemy attacks at bay throughout the final twenty and walked away with his first shutout of the year, and first ever as an Oiler.

Post game: "We kept patient when we had to. Pens and Gagner had big chances early, but were not distressed when they did not score initially. I think we're mentally stronger now than early in the year" said GM Kowalski, noting also that Edmonton was far from where he ultimately wanted them to be. Hillers 32 save shutout was built upon by strong games from Penner, Petry, Laich, Gagner and Hemsky.



Scoreboard
1st Period:
-
2nd Period:
EDM - Tangradi (Hemsky, Gagner) PP
EDM - Penner (Laich, Petry) PP
EDM - Moore (Gagner, Axelsson)

3rd Period:
-


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Tangradi - Laich - Brule
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Axelsson - Cogliano - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Petry

Hiller
(Khabibulin)