Edmonton 4, Phoenix 2
edmontonoilers.com
Shawn Horcoff races for the puck against Coyotes forward Niko Kapanen.
- photo by Norm Hall Phoenix Coyotes
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The Essentials
Photo Gallery
Post-Game Podcast
Three Stars
- Raffi Torres, EDM
Two goals to lead the way offensively for Edmonton.
- Dwayne Roloson, EDM
Played a great game with 39 saves.
- Keith Ballard, PHX
Played a strong defensive game with four blocked shots.
Update
- Edmonton's record improves to 3-4-0 and with six points, they're tied with Vancouver and Chicago for ninth place in the Western Conference - two points back of fourth.
What's Next
- The Oilers wrap up their three-game road trip on Saturday night in Calgary against the Flames.
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Raffi Torres scored twice and Dwayne Roloson made 39 saves to help lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on Thursday night.
Torres played his best game of the season, scoring two goals including the game winner.
"We're reading off each other. Everybody is focusing in here, trying to make plays instead of throwing it away," Torres said. "I think we're doing a great job, especially (Hemsky) holding on to it."
On the next shift after an early penalty kill, MacTavish put out Torres, Cogliano and Hemsky and it paid off. Torres took a pass from Hemsky and rifled it in off the half boards to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead.
Phoenix almost tied it up while shorthanded several minutes later. Fredrik Sjostrom intercepted the puck from Hemsky as he cut across the zone early in the man advantage. As a result, it was a breakaway opportunity for the Coyotes forward but Roloson turned it away.
Alex Auld had to make a couple of great saves with five minutes left in the period. Breaking up the left wing side, Pitkanen made a cross-ice pass to Cogliano but Auld got across to make the save. Seconds later, Auld gloved a Hemsky wrister.
Shots on goal after one were 13-7 for the Coyotes.
The teams traded power plays five minutes into the second period. First, Matt Jones was sent off for running interference on Kyle Brodziak. 1:30 into that man advantage, Denis Grebeshkov tripped up a Coyotes forward.
Phoenix struck for a goal on their power play. Niko Kapanen's point shot was tipped in the slot by Dan Carcillo and Peter Mueller was at the doorstep to slap the rebound in.
Edmonton took a 2-1 lead late in the second. Tarnstrom's shot from the point was tipped in front by Brodziak before beating Auld through the five hole.
Shots after two periods were 27-15 for Phoenix.
Phoenix tied the game up in the third period. After a good cycle deep in the Edmonton zone, Mathias Tjarnqvist backhanded a pass to Mike Zigomanis deep in the slot. Zigomanis made no mistake, lifting the puck over Roloson to tie the game at 2-2.
Zack Stortini came close to scoring midway through the third after jamming at a loose puck in the crease.
Minutes later, Torres struck again for his second of the game. The play started when Cogliano sprung Hemsky in alone on a nice pass up ice. Hemsky's initial shot was kicked out by Auld but Torres backhanded the rebound in.
Shawn Horcoff added an empty netter to make it 4-2 in the final minute.
| Three star selections |
| 1st: |
RAFFI TORRES |
| 2nd: |
DWAYNE ROLOSON |
| 3rd: |
PETER MUELLER |
Winning Goaltender
Dwayne Roloson
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Losing Goaltender
Alex Auld
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