Blackhawks beat Oilers 4-1

Edmonton's Theo Peckham and Chicago's Marian Hossa chase down the puck Wednesday, Feb. 9 at Rexall Place. The Blackhawks won the game 4-1. (Photo courtesy of Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

 

---

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 Watch Eberle's goal IN FOCUS: Post-game comments from Gagner, Cogliano, Peckham & Coach Krueger of the Oilers RAW: Associate coach Ralph Krueger's post-game press conference The Other Side: Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Fernando Pisani, Corey Crawford & head coach Joel Quenneville post-game

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Andrew Cogliano Theo Peckham Shawn Horcoff Sam Gagner Associate Coach Ralph Krueger

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers record falls to 16-30-8.

MORE

Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers continue their six-game homestand Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Ottawa. The Hockey Day in Canada matinee match-up starts at 12:00noon and will be broadcast on CBC. Single & standing tickets are still available. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Eight consecutive penalties totalling 26 minutes kept the Oilers on the disadvantage Wednesday night. Despite limiting the Blackhawks to a lone power-play goal and cracking their goose-egg late in the third, the Oilers surrendered an empty-netter to finish with a 4-1 loss.

Under the Scope

Jordan Eberle scored for Edmonton while goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in the effort.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers and Blackhawks matched eachother shot-for-shot through the first seven minutes, shots which were swiftly stopped by goaltenders Devan Dubnyk and Corey Crawford.

Chicago pulled ahead at that point and, after adding another five attempts to their tally, got one through. From the high-slot, Patrick Sharp received the puck from Jonathan Toews and snapped it past Dubnyk's blocker to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Shortly after the goal, the Oilers were called for too many men. The club killed that two minutes and then two more while Kurtis Foster served his holding sentence.

Successful penalty killing kept the Oilers within one yet trailing 10-4 in shots after 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD

The Blackhawks soared into the second period, forcing Dubnyk to come up with a pair of stellar saves, including a rebound snag while sprawled across the goal line. The Oilers didn't come out of the assault completely unscathed, however: aggressive defender Jim Vandermeer took a hooking minor, which his club expertly diffused.

Edmonton's penalty killing stayed perfect but their even-strength performance lapsed near the five-minute mark. After snagging the puck in the neutral zone, Bryan Bickell embarked on a breakaway and narrowly beat Dubnyk with a backhander, doubling Chicago's lead.

The Oilers picked up the pace following another successful penalty kill, but Crawford continued to frustrate hometown players and fans by making some crafty saves. As a result, the Oilers headed into the third period trailing 2-0 and 22-16 on the shot clock.

THIRD PERIOD

Edmonton was assessed its fifth and sixth consecutive penalties in the first four minutes of the third. Although the club killed Ladislav Smid's high-sticking minor, the infractions caught up to them early in Vandermeer's tripping minor.

20 seconds into the power-play, Kane fired past Dubnyk to set the score 3-0 for the Blackhawks. Theo Peckham and Andrew Cogliano found fault with a Blackhawks tactic leading up to the goal, and officials responded by giving them both 10-minute misconducts.

With 10:10 remaining in regulation, the power-play tables finally turned. Overlapping Blackhawks penalties resulted in the Oilers first two man-advantages -- including a 15-second five-on-three -- but they failed to have the desired effect.

Although the powerplays were disappointing, Jordan Eberle gave fans something to cheer about a few minutes later. After Vandermeer's slapshot was turned away by Crawford, Eberle was perfectly poised to fire home the rebound, getting the Oilers on the clock and back within two.

Edmonton pulled Dubnyk in the final minute, and Kane responded with another goal, sealing a 4-1 win for the Blackhawks.