Oilers keep NHL's best scoreless for 2nd straight win

Edmonton's Ryan Jones, Jordan Eberle & Jeff Petry celebrate after Jones' first-period power-play goal vs Vancouver Tuesday, April 5 at Rexall Place. (Photo by 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 Magnus Paajarvi's goal Ryan Jones' goal IN FOCUS: Tom Gazzola gets Oilers post-game comments after the win Head coach Tom Renney's full post-game press conference Post-game comments from Vancouver's Raffi Torres, Roberto Luongo, Henrik Sedin, Cory Schneider & Head Coach Alain Vigneault

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Jordan Eberle Magnus Paajarvi Ryan Jones Devan Dubnyk Head Coach Tom Renney

UPDATE

With the win, the Oilers record improves to 25-43-11.

MORE

Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

Edmonton takes a quick trip south to Calgary for the season's final Battle of Alberta Wednesday, April 6. The game starts at 7:30pm MT and will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet Flames.

Vancouver was looking for vengeance at Rexall Place Tuesday night but was sent home scoreless instead. Thanks to great goaltending from Devan Dubnyk and key offensive contributions from Ryan Jones and Magnus Paajarvi, Edmonton secured a 2-0 shutout win over the League's top team.

FIRST PERIOD

Edmonton dominated the game's opening minutes, firing five shots on Roberto Luongo plus one on his crossbar; Vancouver, by comparison, tested Dubnyk only once in the first nine minutes.

The Canucks narrowed the shot gap to 7-4 late in the period, but their progress slowed when Jannik Hansen took a hooking minor. With only three seconds left on the clock and 46 seconds remaining in the infraction, Jones caught Jordan Eberle's shot with his shin and deflected it over Luongo, resulting in a power-play goal and 1-0 Oilers lead heading into the second period.

SECOND PERIOD

Trailing eight shots to four at the start of the middle frame, Vancouver got within one by the five-minute mark and overtook Edmonton two minutes later. Dubnyk continued to frustrate the League's leaders, however, and came up with some big saves to keep them off the board.

Near the game's midway point, a shoving match erupted in Dubnyk's crease, netting coincidental high-sticking and roughing minors to Ladislav Smid and Alex Burrows. The Canucks increased their shot lead during four-on-four but the 1-0 game stuck.

Less than a minute after the penalties expired, Vancouver was assessed the first of two consecutive infractions. Edmonton managed two shots on the power-plays but couldn't crack Luongo a second time, pushing the one-goal game into the final frame.

THIRD PERIOD

32 seconds after third-period puck drop, Jim Vandermeer was called for hooking and the Canucks benefited from their first power-play. The Oilers prevented any power-play attempts but had little time to rest: one minute into five-on-five, a tripping minor to Ryan O'Marra put the club back on the penalty kill.

Thankfully for the home team, the disadvantage was brief: a tripping minor to Daniel Sedin triggered 1:11 of four-on-four followed by Edmonton's fourth power-play of the game.

Scoring proved impossible in the penalty-filled stretch, yet the Canucks emerged with a commanding 25-15 shot lead.

With 6:55 remaining in regulation, Eberle was crunched by Raffi Torres, triggering the immediate wrath of witness Ryan O'Marra. The brawl was short but significant: in addition to fighting majors to both players, Torres took an additional elbowing major and game misconduct.

50 seconds into the five-minute infraction, Rome and Burrows added cross-checking penalties, gifting the Oilers four full minutes of five-on-three. Edmonton tallied five shots on the extended power-play -- the fifth, a rebound redirect courtesy of Magnus Paajarvi, slipped past Luongo to make it 2-0 Oilers with 2:46 left to play.

The home team held the lead until the buzzer, and the Oilers skated away with their second straight win over the League's top team.