Oilers beat Blues 2-1 in OT, stretch win streak to four

St. Louis' Stefan Della Rovere and Edmonton's Colin Fraser grapple during their first-period fight at Rexall Place Saturday, December 4. The Oilers eventually won the game 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

 

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PRE-GAME

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

PHOTOS

Click here for the photo gallery

VIDEO

Watch the highlights Taylor Hall's OT goal Paajarvi feeds Jones for the opening goal IN FOCUS: Post-game comments from Hall, Paajarvi, Khabibulin, Jones & Head Coach Renney The Other Side: Eric Brewer, David Backes, Alex Steen & head coach Davis Payne

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Magnus Paajarvi Ryan Jones Taylor Hall Sam Gagner Nikolai Khabibulin Head coach Tom Renney

THREE STARS

Nikolai Khabibulin, EDM Jaroslav Halak, STL Taylor Hall, EDM

UPDATE

With the win, the Oilers winning streak stretches to four games and their record improves to 10-12-4.

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Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers continue their six-game homestand Tuesday, Dec. 7 vs. Anaheim. The game starts at 7:30pm and will be broadcast on TSN. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

The Oilers and Blues took a while to get going Saturday night, and after third-period goals by Ryan Jones and Eric Brewer, found themselves even after 60 minutes. But only 23 seconds into overtime, Taylor Hall caught a breakaway and fired home the game-winner to secure a 2-1 win for Edmonton and extend the club's winning streak to four games.

Under the Scope

At the other end of the ice, Nikolai Khabibulin made 31 saves for the win and first-star honours.

FIRST PERIOD

St. Louis was trigger happy in the game's first few minutes, firing four shots on Khabibulin while the Oilers could get only one on Jaroslav Halak.

At 3:15, Colin Fraser and Stefan Della Rovere got feisty and dropped their gloves for a short brawl on the Blues blue line. Edmonton exploded following the scrap and peppered Halak with the puck, but the club hit only leather and iron, no net.

Despite the Oilers attempts, the Blues maintained a slim shot lead and held it until the end of the period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Blues came out strong in the middle frame, fueled in part by the game's first power-play. Although the visitors added four shots on the man-advantage, the opening goal remained elusive and Dustin Penner was able to complete his two minutes for boarding.

St. Louis topped 20 shortly after the power-play, but Khabibulin turned them all away, including a stealthy right pad block that stunned Andy McDonald and thrilled the crowd.

With less than two minutes left on the clock, the Oilers benefited from their first power-play when Dave Scatchard was called for hooking. Edmonton couldn't capitalize in the middle frame but carried 13 seconds of man-advantage into the third.

THIRD PERIOD

Although the Oilers couldn't beat Halak on the remainder of their man-advantage, they managed to get the best of him shortly thereafter. After surging into the offensive zone, Magnus Paajarvi spotted Jones on his left wing and chipped the puck over to his linemate, who tipped it top shelf to make it 1-0 Edmonton.

It took over 10 minutes, but the Blues eventually matched with a goal of their own. Shortly after his club cracked 30 shots, Brewer wired home a slapper from the point to tie the game at one with 6:27 left in regulation.

The score stayed even until the buzzer signalled 60 minutes, pushing the game into overtime.

OVERTIME

Sudden death was quick. Only 23 seconds into the extra frame, Taylor Hall caught a breakaway and snapped the puck past Halak to secure a 2-1 win for the Oilers and stretch the club's winning streak to four.