Oilers salvage shootout win over Kings

Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Edmonton Oilers stops a shot during a game against the Los Angeles Kings on February 14, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Wendi Kaminski/NHLI via Getty Images)

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GAME CENTRE

Pre-Game Info Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Video interviews Audio Interviews Photo Gallery Click here for the photo gallery Post-Game Video Watch the highlights Post-game comments from Shawn Horcoff, Sam Gagner, Ladislav Smid and Craig MacTavish. Post-Game Podcast Shawn Horcoff Ladislav Smid Sam Gagner Craig MacTavish Three Stars Dwayne Roloson, EDM - 39 saves Dustin Brown, LA - Game-tying goal, seven shots + 12 hits Dustin Penner, EDM - Goal + assist Update With the win, Edmonton improves to 28-23-4 and moves into a tie with Vancouver for seventh spot in the Western Conference. What's Next Edmonton continues their road trip with a visit to Phoenix Monday, February 16. Game time is 7:30pm MST.

by Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com

Although the Kings came back from a 2-0 deficit to force extra time, rock-solid Dwayne Roloson and shootout goals from Sam Gagner and Robert Nilsson secured a 3-2 win for the Oilers Saturday afternoon. Dustin Penner and Shawn Horcoff scored Edmonton's first two goals, while Roloson finished with 39 saves and first-star honours.

FIRST PERIOD

The first five minutes netted only one shot per team, but for the visitors, one shot is all it would take to assume the first lead of the game. After Ales Hemsky wove his way towards Jonathan Quick's net, the Oilers sniper backhanded the puck to Dustin Penner, who then snapped it past the goalie for the opening goal.

The Kings came to life after the goal, testing Dwayne Roloson with three more shots in the following few minutes. With just over seven minutes left on the clock, Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar took a holding penalty and Edmonton benefited from its first powerplay.

Only 37 seconds into the man-advantage, the Oilers' top line produced its second goal of the game. From the far left wing, Hemsky got the puck to Penner near the corner of the crease. Penner's proximity forced Quick to prepare for a shot, but instead the towering Oiler backhanded the puck to Shawn Horcoff, who tucked it under the cross bar to craft a 2-0 lead.

A shoving match erupted after the goal, resulting in roughing minors to Horcoff and Drew Doughty. The Oilers pounced during four-on-four, and when Quick stepped up to make a pair of key saves with Sam Gagner on his doorstep, Gagner faced an irate Jack Johnson and a fight ensued.

Johnson landed a handful of solid punches on the back of Gagner's head, and after all was said and done, the bloodied Oilers forward headed to the locker room to serve his period-closing  fighting major.

Two more coincidental roughing minors -- this time to Ladislav Smid and Kyle Quincey -- preceeded a second fight, this time to more-likely scrappers Zack Stortini and Raitis Ivanans. Despite the flurry of infractions, even-strength play continued until Andrew Cogliano took a hooking penalty to give the Kings their first powerplay.

Edmonton excelled on the penalty kill, managing a pair of shorthanded scoring attempts to keep the Kings on their toes. By the end of the first, the Oilers trailed 8-5 on the shot clock but continued to lead 2-0.

SECOND PERIOD

The Kings gained a 13-5 shot advantage in the first five minutes of the second, but Roloson stood his ground to keep his club up by two. At that point, a pair of Oilers infractions resulted in a two-man Kings advantage for 1:32.

Though the Oilers killed the majority of the five-on-three, with 16 seconds left in Theo Peckham's interference minor, Doughty found a way to beat Roloson with a slapshot and get his club back within one.

L.A. hit 20 shots at the game's midway point while Edmonton had yet to post a second-period attempt. A hooking penalty to Brad Richardson helped the visitors gain some offensive momentum, but Quick turned away both powerplay shots.

A fourth Kings powerplay late in the frame helped the home team attain a dominant 24-8 shot lead, but the Oilers continued to dominate the score 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

A pair of Kings penalties gave the Oilers their third and fourth powerplays early in the third. Edmonton topped 15 shots thanks to the man-advantages but Quick prevented the visitors from increasing their lead.

With seven minutes left in regulation, a hit by Dustin Brown on Smid triggered an aggressive chain of events. A few moments later, Ethan Moreau drilled Brown in the Oilers slot, sending Brown's helmet and stick flying. Matt Greene took exception to this hit and participated in a short fight with his former teammate.

A late penalty to Cogliano and an open net gave the Kings a six-on-four advantage for the game's final minutes. With only 26 seconds left in regulation, Brown tipped in Alexander Frolov's slapshot to tie the game at two and force extra time.

OVERTIME

With Los Angeles owning Edmonton 37-19 on the shot clock, sudden death got underway. The Kings hit 40 shots in the tail end of overtime, shortly before a hooking penalty to Johnson gave the Oilers a brief 38-second four-on-three. But Quick wasted no time covering pucks and preventing rebounds, ensuring the tie game progressed to a shootout.

SHOOTOUT

Roloson was perfect in the shootout, stopping O'Sullivan and Frolov's shootout attempts. The two saves combined with two goals from Gagner and Nilsson at the other end of the ice secured a 3-2 shootout win for the Oilers Saturday afternoon.