Khabibulin stops 34 as Oilers bottle league's best

Edmonton's Taylor Hall collects the puck near the faceoff circle during 1st period action at Rexall Place on Oct. 27, 2011. The Oilers won the game 2-1. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club.)

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Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle each scored a power-play goal, but Nikolai Khabibulin was the story once again, stoning Capitals shooters on 34 occasions to capture a well-earned 2-1 win Thursday night at Rexall Place.

FIRST PERIOD

With the Capitals leading 3-1 in shots, Theo Peckham was charged with cross-checking at 2:52, putting Washington on the game's first power-play. The visitors were unable to generate another attempt on Nikolai Khabibulin, keeping the scoreless tie intact.

Monents later on the Capitals' fourth shot, 23-year-old D man Karl Alzner wired a slapper past the orange and blue's 'tender, putting the home side down 1-0 at 5:34 on an even-strength marker.

With 10:05 remaining, penalties to Anton Lander and Washington's Matt Hendricks (hooking and diving) put the teams in a two-minute 4-on-4 situation. The Capitals added two shots, but nothing too dangerous as the squads returned to even-strength action with under seven minutes to play.

Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle orchestrated a strong sequence at 15:23, allowing Cam Barker to walk into a slapshot on the scrambling Capitals; No. 13 cranked the iron, but the Oilers did draw a penalty when Alex Semin was assessed a hooking minor.

One minute into the chance, a slashing minor to Ryan Smyth canceled the power-play opportunity; but 14 seconds later, the Capitals were charged another when John Carlson's delay of game minor provided the home side with a 4-on-3 man-advantage.

That chanced passed without incident, but the penalty box doors continued to swing with 2:17 on the clock to keep the Oilers on the PP. With Roman Hamrlik in the box, an incredible tic-tac-toe play choreographed by Corey Potter and Eberle ended with Hall polishing the puck into the gaping cage behind Tomas Voukon.

The Oilers' late power-play goal at 18:15 pulled the home team even 1-1 on the scoreboard, but headed into locker room down 9-5 in shots.

SECOND PERIOD

The parade to the box continued in the second when Washington's Jeff Schultz was called for hooking at 4:29. The Oilers struggled to maintain possession, turning the puck over several times as the advantage passed.

As the period's 10-mintue mark passed, the Oilers surrendered to a 13-8 shot disadvantage but began to chip away at the Capitals in the hitting department. Ben Eager and Andy Sutton in particular crushed Marcus Johansson and others during a minute-long sequence in the Oilers end, setting a positive tone.

With 7:56 on the clock, Washington's Troy Brouwer was assessed a hooking minor, sending the Oilers to their third power-play chance. It took the home side 39 seconds to cash; a point blast by Potter was stopped, but a rebound popped into the circle where Eberle pounced, sliding the puck into the wide-open net and giving his club a 2-1 lead.

The Capitals' seventh, eighth and ninth penalties came late in the period, putting the Oilers on additional man-advantage opportunities (including a 5-on-3 chance for 57 seconds). RNH, Eberle and Hall worked some more magic, but the 3-1 goal couldn't be recorded.

With 40 minutes in the books, the Oilers held a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard and had closed the shot gap to a 16-13 Capitals edge.

THIRD PERIOD

Khabibulin was tasked to come up big early, turning aside several Capitals attempts before Ladislav Smid was assessed a roughing minor at 1:22. No. 35 stopped another four on the power-play, including a spectacular sliding denial to preserve his club's lead.

The Oilers battled back, peppering Vokoun with goal-line chances at will, but the 35-year-old netminder stoned Ryan Smyth at the doorstep to keep the Oilers' 2-1 lead on the board.

Once the period's midway point passed, the Capitals had extended to a 28-16 shot edge but were unable to come any closer on the scoreboard.

With 5:01 remaining, the Oilers' 3-3 PK got a chance to improve and keep the team's lead in the waning moments; Anton Lander was charged with tripping. The Caps came close on the advantage, but Khabibulin's glove-side post denied Washington's Dennis Wideman to keep the Oilers within minutes of a win.

A roughing call to Andy Sutton at 18:56 put the Capitals back on the power-play at the most important time. The visitors' advantage was extended to a two-man chance when Vokoun was pulled for an extra-attacker at the time of the minor, too.

With 15.3 seconds to go, Alex Ovechkin burst down the wing, escaping checks before rifling a shot off the cross-bar and into the netting behind Khabibulin. That's as close as they would come, however, as the remaining seconds elapsed without incident, and the Oilers closed a 2-1 win over the league's best squad.

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