Oilers burned by penalties, succumb to Sens 4-1

Edmonton's Mike Comrie fires the puck on Ottawa's Brian Elliott Tuesday, March 9 at Rexall Place. The Senators went on to beat the Oilers 4-1. (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

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VIDEO

Watch the highlights Oilers post-game comments from Gagner, Peckham, Horcoff, Deslauriers and Quinn. Senators post-game comments from head coach Cory Clouston, Brian Elliott, Matt Cullen and Daniel Alfredsson comment after the game.

AUDIO

Sam Gagner Theo Peckham Shawn Horcoff Jeff Deslauriers Pat Quinn

THREE STARS

Daniel Alfredsson, OTT - 3 assists Erik Karlsson, OTT - 2 assists + 6 shots Jeff Deslauriers, EDM - 35 saves

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers drop to 21-39-6 and remain in 15th spot in the Western Conference with 48 points.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers embark on a four-game road trip Wednesday morning, with their first contest scheduled for Thursday, March 11 at 5:00pm MST in Montreal. The game will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet West.

With 24 saves in the first two periods, Oilers goalie Jeff Deslauriers had his club on even terms heading into the final frame. But four Edmonton penalties helped Ottawa add 14 shots and three goals in the third, propelling the visitors to a 4-1 win at Rexall Place Tuesday night.

Fernando Pisani started the scoring with his third goal of the season early in the second period, while Deslauriers finished with 35 saves and third star.

FIRST PERIOD

Despite creating a pair of rushes into the visiting end, the Oilers were unable to get the puck on Sens goalie Brian Elliott and trailed 4-0 on the shot clock after five minutes of play.

By the 11-minute mark, the Sens were up 5-1 and one man thanks to a holding minor to Ryan Potulny. The advantage doubled 1:22 later when Ryan Whitney added a cross-checking minor, but the four powerplay shots failed to translate to the scoreboard and the scoreless game continued.

After being outshot 10-1, Oilers enforcer Zack Stortini attempted to inspire his club by dropping gloves with Matt Carkner behind Elliott's net. Carkner clocked Stortini with a handful of rights before the Oiler countered with a few of his own. Stortini took an extra instigator and 10-minute misconduct for his role in the fight, offering the Sens their third powerplay.

Edmonton came within two seconds of completing the kill when Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson did the home team a favour by hooking Andrew Cogliano. Midway through the powerplay, Mike Comrie broke in on Elliott but was pulled down by Brian Lee, resulting in a penalty shot.

Although Elliott kicked away Comrie's attempt, the string of opportunities gave the Oil some confidence and they gained ground on the shot clock.

A boarding minor to Shawn Horcoff stalled the assault in the frame's final minute, but Deslauriers continued his excellent play by smothering Mike Fisher's shot as it crossed the line. Video replay proved that the save was good and the scoreless first period came to an end.

SECOND PERIOD

Just under five minutes into the second, the Oilers got the break they were looking for. Elliott made an initial save on Aaron Johnson's slapper from the point, but Pisani snapped up the rebound and lifted it over the sprawled goalie to give the Oil a 1-0 lead. With the primary assist, Johnson registered his first point as an Oiler.

Near the game's midway point, the Sens found a spark and swarmed Deslauriers. The goalie's athleticism and reflexes were tested, and judging by his backward-falling glove stop on Erik Karlsson, he's an A student in those subjects.

Despite being stonewalled by Deslauriers again, Ottawa didn't let up. With 3:42 left on the clock, Chris Kelly stationed himself beside the net the slipped the puck between JD and his left post to tie the game at one.

At the end of the period, Oilers staff announced that Patrick O'Sullivan had suffered a left hand injury on a slash earlier in the game and would not return.

THIRD PERIOD

With the shot-clock reading 25-15 in favour of the Sens, Edmonton and Ottawa started the final frame on even terms. Rookie defenceman Theo Peckham was especially chatty at the beginning of the period, but he was unable to talk his way into a fight.

At 7:50, Marc Pouliot served a penalty for delay of game, and only 34 seconds later, the Sens capitalized. From the mid-slot, Matt Cullen slapped home the go-ahead goal, setting the score 2-1.

Just over a minute later, Fisher registered his team's 30th shot and third goal by fooling Deslauriers with a snapshot.

Facing a two-goal deficit, the Oilers soon found themselves in a two-man deficit when Peckham and Whitney shared 13 seconds in the penalty box. Only eight seconds into the five-on-three, Milan Michalek slipped the puck under Deslauriers to make it 4-1.

Two more Senators infractions and another Oiler penalty kept specialty teams on the ice through the rest of the game, but the advantages failed to trigger more scoring and the Oilers concluded their three-game homestand with a 4-1 loss.