Oilers salute fans with solid 5-1 win over Flames

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers keeps his eye on the puck during the Oilers final home game of the season. The Oilers went on to beat the Flames 5-1. (Photo by Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

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GAME CENTRE

Twitter Updates   Pre-Game Info Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Video interviews Audio Interviews In-Game Media 1st Intermission - Dwayne Roloson.  Photo Gallery Click here for the photo gallery Post-Game Video Watch the highlights Post-game comments from Sheldon Souray, Taylor Chorney, Steve MacIntyre, Jeff Deslauriers & Craig MacTavish The Other Side: Flames interviews with Iginla, Pardy, Kiprusoff, Cammalleri & head coach Mike Keenan Post-Game Podcast Steve MacIntyre Taylor Chorney Sheldon Souray Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers Craig MacTavish Three Stars Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, EDM - 31 saves Sheldon Souray, EDM - Goal + 2 assists Patrick O'Sullivan, EDM - Goal + 8 shots What's Next Edmonton plays their final game of the season Saturday, April 11 in Calgary. Game time is 8:00pm MDT and will be broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada.

by Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com

A 31-save performance by rookie goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and three-goal output in the third period helped the Oilers close out their 2008-09 home schedule with a dominant 5-1 victory over their archrival Calgary Flames Friday night. Sheldon Souray and Shawn Horcoff posted a goal and two assists each to lead all skaters with three points.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers final home game of 2008-09 started with Dwayne Roloson on the bench instead of between the pipes, capping his franchise record for consecutive starts at 36 games. In his place: rookie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, whose last start was November 30 in Dallas.

The Oil came out swinging vs. their provincial rivals, testing Miikka Kiprusoff with seven shots before the Flames could get the puck on Deslauriers. Near the midway point of the frame, penalties to Olli Jokinen and then Sheldon Souray put Edmonton and Calgary's powerplay units on the ice, but neither man-advantage resulted in the opening goal.

A pair of good scoring chances helped the Oilers wrap 20 minutes with 14 shots (vs. the Flames' nine), but a period-ending hooking minor to Steve MacIntyre ensured the home team would start the second period on the penalty kill.

630 CHED's Dan Tencer talks to Dwayne Roloson in the first intermission

SECOND PERIOD

Calgary and Edmonton added six shots each in the first half of the middle frame, but Kiprusoff and Deslauriers -- with a little help from d-man Tom Gilbert near the eight-minute mark -- stretched the scoreless stalemate.

A big blocker save and even bigger glovehand grab had fans cheering on Deslauriers later in the period, but they soon turned their attentions to Ales Kotalik at the opposite end of the ice. After a set-up by Ales Hemsky, Kotalik slapped the puck past Kiprusoff to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.

With four minutes left on the clock, Steve MacIntyre got in on the action. From behind the net, Kyle Brodziak fed the puck to the Oilers bruiser out front, and though MacIntyre's shot didn't immediately sail into the net, the puck eventually snuck past Kiprusoff to make it 2-0 heading into the third.

THIRD PERIOD

The Oilers hit 30 attempts -- four more than the Flames -- nine minutes into the third, a shot advantage they were unable to increase on their second powerplay shortly thereafter.

Although the home team couldn't to register a shot or a goal on the man-advantage, Shawn Horcoff accomplished both seconds later. After Sheldon Souray muscled his way up the slot, Horcoff got the puck and pushed it past Kiprusoff for a third unanswered Oilers goal.

This time, the Flames answered -- only to have the Oilers return the call. Mike Cammalleri managed to get the puck past Deslauriers to get Calgary on the board 38 seconds after Horcoff's goal, but 50 seconds after that, Patrick O'Sullivan renewed Edmonton's three-goal lead with a top-shelf, sharp-angle shot.

The Flames hit 30 shots while Theo Peckham served a cross-checking penalty, but the Oilers killed that infraction, flipped the powerplay tables, and then promptly made it 5-1 thanks to a Sheldon Souray slapper at 16:16.

The goal sealed a 5-1 victory for the Oilers, ending their home schedule on a winning note.