Oilers slay Devils 2-0 Sunday night

Edmonton's Ryan Potulny attempts to get the puck past New Jersey's Marty Brodeur Sunday, March 7 at Rexall Place. The Oilers went on to beat the Devils 2-0. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

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PRE-GAME

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

PHOTOS

Click here for the photo gallery

VIDEO

Watch the highlights Post-game comments from Gilbert Brule, Shawn Horcoff, Ryan Whitney, Jeff Deslauriers & Head Coach Pat Quinn Post-game comments from Martin Skoula, Martin Brodeur, Dainius Zubrus & Head Coach Jacques Lemaire

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Gilbert Brule Ryan Whitney Shawn Horcoff Jeff Deslauriers Pat Quinn

THREE STARS

Jeff Deslauriers, EDM - 22 saves for 3rd shutout of the season Martin Brodeur, NJ - 33 saves Ryan Whitney, EDM - 2 shots & 2 PIM in over 25 minutes on ice

UPDATE

With the win, the Oilers improve to 21-38-6 for 48 points.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers wrap up their three-game homestand Tuesday, March 9 vs. Ottawa. The game starts at 7:30pm and will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet West.

The Oilers started the weekend with an exciting 2-1 shootout win Friday night, and goalie Jeff Deslauriers ensured they ended it in the same style. Deslauriers turned away 22 shots to backstop his club to a 2-0 shutout, his third of the season.

Gilbert Brule and Marc Pouliot scored the only goals of the game, while defenceman Ryan Whitney earned third-star honours for his efforts during a game-leading 25:46 on the ice.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers and Devils were hopping around the ice for the first 10 minutes but managed to tally only four shots on Jeff Deslauriers and Marty Brodeur.

At that point, Zack Stortini gave New Jersey the edge by roughing up winger David Clarkson, but Edmonton dominated on the penalty kill and prevented the visitors from getting the puck on JD.

The Devils created some pressure in the Oilers zone with less than two minutes to play but Deslauriers kept the puck out of the net and the game scoreless. Devils led the Oilers 7-3 in shots after 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD

Edmonton's first shot of the second period turned out to be the game's first goal. At 1:23, Patrick O'Sullivan cut behind the net and fed the puck to Gilbert Brule out front, who surprised Brodeur with a quick release to make it 1-0 Oilers.

The home team didn't let up after the goal and, thanks in part to a holding minor to Zack Parise, eventually assumed a 10-8 shot lead. A second Oilers powerplay was less successful, but Deslauriers prevented a shorthanded Devils goal and kept his club up by one.

Despite picking up their pace and spending much of the final few minutes in the offensive zone, the Devils were unable to catch up on the shot-clock or the scoreclock and finished 40 minutes down 1-0 and 19 shots to 15.

THIRD PERIOD

Edmonton increased their shot lead by five before New Jersey could test Deslauriers for a 16th time. With just under 13 minutes left in regulation, Ilya Kovalchuk caught a breakaway and descended on the Oilers' net, but JD matched shot number 17 with another solid save.

Buoyed by their backstopper, the Oilers regained control of the play and attacked the Devils. After receiving a crisp diving pass from Robert Nilsson, Marc Pouliot doubled Edmonton's lead with a top-shelf wrister from the left face-off circle.

Frustration hit the Devils after the goal, resulting in a nasty shoving match between Ryan Whitney and Andrew Peters. Both players were tagged with roughing minors, but Peters got an extra 10-minute misconduct for his behaviour. With Whitney watching from the sidelines, the Oilers broke 30 shots while the Devils sat at 18.

A late holding penalty to Clarkson gave the Oilers a game-ending powerplay, and although Brodeur stepped up for four more saves, his team couldn't carry that effort into the other end. As a result, the Oilers came away with a 2-0 shutout victory Sunday night.