Oilers drop 3-1 decision to the Islanders

Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano and New York's Mark Streit battle for the puck in Long Island Monday night. The Islanders won 3-1. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

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PRE-GAME

Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Game Program Video interviews Audio Interviews

PHOTOS

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VIDEO

Watch the highlights Ethan Moreau and Pat Quinn reflect on the loss in New York

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Ethan Moreau Pat Quinn

THREE STARS

John Tavares, NYI - 1 goal Ethan Moreau, EDM - 1 goal Brendan Witt, NYI - 2 goals

UPDATE

With the loss, Edmonton drops to 7-7-1 and sits in a tie with Columbus for ninth spot in the Western Conference.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers return to Edmonton to host the New York Rangers Thursday, November 5th. The game starts at 7:30pm MST and will be broadcast on Molson Canadian Oilers Pay Per View. Click here for PPV information Click here ticket information

by Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com

Although Oilers Captain Ethan Moreau notched the first goal of the game, the Islanders countered with three more -- including two by Brendan Witt -- to take the game 3-1. Former Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson made 22 saves for the win, while Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 34 for the loss.

FIRST PERIOD

Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and former Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson faced five and four shots respectively in the first 10 minutes of the game, but they ensured the attempts were unsuccessful to keep an early opening goal off the clock.

But one minute later, Ethan Moreau got one through. From behind Roloson's net, the Oilers captain attempted to center the puck but watched it bounce off defender Radek Martinek's skate and across the line to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

Just under four minutes later, the Islanders countered. After Doug Weight snagged the puck deep in the Oilers zone, he swiftly fed it to rookie John Tavares who fooled Khabibulin with a one-timer snapshot to tie the game at one.

In the period's final minutes, New York's Andy Sutton collided with Tom Gilbert, triggering the wrath of J.F. Jacques. Jacques and Sutton dropped their gloves near the penalty boxes, meaning a short commute after the end of the duel. Jacques took an extra instigating minor and 10-minute misconduct for his role in the fight, offering the Islanders the game's first powerplay.

Edmonton killed the first 1:24 of the penalty and were left with 36 seconds to start the middle frame.

SECOND PERIOD

The Oilers outlasted Jacques' penalty but couldn't stop the Isles with both teams back at even strength. At 2:32, blueliner Brendan Witt directed the puck through traffic and past Khabibulin to put New York up 2-1.

The Islanders took control following the go-ahead goal, and 10 minutes after his first marker, Witt added another. From the same spot on the point, the long-haired defenceman navigated his slapshot through the crowd to double his club's lead.

The Oilers pressed to negate one of Witt's goals but were unable to register a second goal on Roloson. The club's efforts were comprimised when Denis Gresbeshkov was called for delay of game, but the team quickly benefited from the end-of-period buzzer to reassess their game plan in the dressing room.

THIRD PERIOD

The Oilers killed the rest of the penalty but continued to struggle against the relentless Isles. Third and fourth consecutive penalties quickly put the club was on the PK, but the home team was unable to increase its lead despite topping 32 shots. The Oilers sat at 20.

Edmonton opted for six skaters in the final two minutes of regulation. Late roughing penalties to Sam Gagner and Kyle Okposo dropped both teams down a man, but the extra attacker failed to result in two extra goals and the Oilers dropped a 3-1 decision Monday night.