Second period goals by
Shawn Horcoff,
Linus Omark and
Jordan Eberle put the Oilers ahead, but 30 saves by
Devan Dubnyk helped propel the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-0 shutout victory over the rival Calgary Flames Sunday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
FIRST PERIOD
Calgary was awarded the game's first power-play when the Oilers were assessed a bench minor for too many men at 4:00. Strong 'tending by starter
Devan Dubnyk, combined with three blocked shots by his teammates kept the game scoreless early on.
When the period's midway point passed, Calgary held a 6-1 shot advantage. Flames netminder Henrik Karlsson made a sensational glove snatch, denying
Gilbert Brule on the visitors' only attempt.
With 4:41 on the clock, the Flames' push continued, causing Oilers rearguard
Corey Potter to take a hooking penalty. Calgary's 0-1 man-advantage went back to work.
But only 19 seconds into the power-play, a penalty on David Moss brought the teams back on even terms.
The opening period came to a close with the team's locked in a 0-0 score, but the Flames controlled the shot count with an 8-6 edge.
SECOND PERIOD
Dubnyk stopped his ninth and 10th pucks in emphatic fashion, turning away Jay Bouwmeester and Curtis Glencross with two dazzling denials only a minute into the period.
At 4:08,
Linus Omark helped choreograph the icebreaker. Following a dump-in, the 24-year-old winger kicked the puck between his legs toward the net, allowing the Oilers' captain to pounce and slide the puck past Karlsson for the 1-0 tally.
Moments later, Edmonton back went on the penalty kill when
Theo Peckham was charged for holding the stick. That opportunity passed without incident, and the Oilers continued to lead 1-0 near the second's seven-minute mark.
Calgary got another opportunity to equal the score when
Ladislav Smid was penalized for hooking at 9:13. With 53 seconds remaining in the chance, during a stoppage in play, Miikka Kiprusoff replaced Karlsson in Calgary's net; at the other end, Dubnyk stayed in, preserving his club's 1-0 lead.
With 7:00 on the clock, the power-play tables turned. Calgary's Matt Stajan was called for holding, putting the Oilers on their second man-advantage opportunity. 55 seconds into the chance, Edmonton went up 2-0 on a well-orchestrated set-up.
Taylor Fedun dished to
Jordan Eberle, who passed to Omark at the goal-mouth, snapping a quick wrister into the wide-open cage.
A bevvy of late-period penalties put the Oilers back on an abbreviated power-play, and the visitors made good once more. Fedun slid a well-timed pass to Eberle in the slot, who scored bar-in with a rapidly released snapshot at 18:48.
THIRD PERIOD
The Oilers were presented with two power-plays in the opening 10 minutes, but no further damage was done on the scoreboard; but they did, however, close to within four attempts on the shot clock, in a 26-22 Flames edge.
At 13:17, Brule was sent to the box, providing Calgary with another power-play opportunity. Due to some acrobatic heroics by Dubnyk, Jay Bouwmeester, Paul Byron and Tom Kostopoulos were all denied by the sophomore netminder.
Dubnyk put a stamp on his shutout bid, turning aside several Flames shooters in the remaining minutes. No. 40 concluded the evening with 30 saves as Edmonton won 3-0 at the Saddledome.
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