Oilers drop 1-0 decision to Blue Jackets

Dustin Penner watches Columbus goalie Steve Mason Thursday, February 26 at Rexall Place. The Blue Jackets defeated the Oilers 1-0. (photo by Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

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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 Sheldon Souray, Tom Gilbert, Sam Gagner, Dwayne Roloson & Craig MacTavish The Other Side: Post-game comments from Raffi Torres, Rick Nash, Steve Mason & Ken Hitchcock Post-Game Podcast Sheldon Souray Tom Gilbert Sam Gagner Dwayne Roloson Craig MacTavish Three Stars Raffi Torres, CBJ - Game-winning goal Dwayne Roloson, EDM - 31 saves Rick Nash, CBJ - two hits & five shots Update By failing to earn a point, the Oilers remain in a four-way tie for seventh place in the Western Conference. What's Next Edmonton concludes their four-game homestand Saturday, February 28 vs. Minnesota. Game time is 8:00pm MST.

by Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com

It's a scoring summary that would have sounded a whole lot better last season: former Oiler Raffi Torres tallied the lone goal Thursday night, giving the Columbus Blue Jackets a 1-0 win over the Oilers at Rexall Place.

FIRST PERIOD

2:34 into the game, Edmonton's Zack Stortini was called for cross-checking and Columbus benefited from the game's first powerplay. But the Blue Jackets man-advantage lasted for only 59 seconds as captain Rick Nash took an interference penalty at 3:33. Despite the powerplays and four-on-four, Dwayne Roloson and Steve Mason were required to make only one save each by the period's midway point.

At that point, Jason Strudwick and Raffi Torres entertained the crowd by dropping their gloves near the Oilers blue line. Strudwick introduced himself to the former Oiler by delivering a series of right jabs, and after tumbling to the ice and being smothered by the linesmen, both players headed to their respective penalty boxes for fighting.

Three minutes later, Jared Boll assumed a spot beside Torres, but the Oilers suffered their second scoreless powerplay. In the period's dying seconds, the Blue Jackets came within centimeters of lighting the lamp, but Roloson robbed Nash to send the 0-0 game into the second period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Blue Jackets assumed a 11-7 shot lead early in the first, a difference that increased to 13-7 when Oilers defenceman Theo Peckham served two minutes for hooking. A second consecutive hooking minor, this time to Shawn Horcoff, helped the visitors attain 20 shots, but Roloson stretched and strove to keep the puck out of the net through the rest of the period.

By the end of the second, Columbus led the shot count 24-12 but had yet to find a way to beat Edmonton's netminder.

THIRD PERIOD

Both teams had a pair of good scoring chances in the first few minutes of the final frame, but Mason and Roloson continued their goaltending duel. At the four-minute mark, Nash rang the puck off Roloson's right post and sent it bouncing across to the other post, but it failed to cross the line.

Eight minutes later, however, Torres accomplished the feat. After surging in on Roloson on a breakaway, the Oilers export went five-hole on Roloson to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead.

In the final five minutes of regulation, the visitors cracked 30 shots while the home team sat at 17. Steady Blue Jackets pressure kept Roloson in his crease until the final 30 seconds, leaving little time for six Oilers skaters to make an impact on the scoreboard. In the end, Columbus registered a 1-0 shutout victory Thursday night.