Oilers blank Kings 3-0, extend winning streak to six

Edmonton's Ladislav Smid battles with Los Angeles Brad Richardson during second period action on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011. The Oilers won the game 3-0. (Photo by Getty Images.)

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Ryan Smyth, Lennart Petrell and Corey Potter each scored, while starting netminder Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19 as the Oilers blanked the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 Thursday night at Staples Center.

The Oilers improve to 8-2-2 on the season, winning six straight for the first time since March of 2002. Petrell's goal was his first in the NHL; Anton Lander picked up an assist to register his first-career NHL point as well.

FIRST PERIOD

Ryan Smyth set up Ryan Jones in the slot for the game's only scoring chance less than three minutes into the game, but Kings 'tender Jonathan Quick denied No. 28 with a sliding save, smothering the rebound as well.

Los Angeles' Justin Williams was assessed a hooking minor at 5:28, putting the Oilers' 20.8-percent power-play to work. The orange and blue peppered Quick with three high-quality scoring chances, but the 25-year-old netminder turned them all aside.

46 seconds later, once Williams' penalty had expired, the Oilers went back to the man-advantage when LA was charged with too many men. The power-play's best chance went to the home side when Jarret Stoll broke in alone on Nikolai Khabibulin, but his snapshot went high and wide.

As the 10-minute mark passed, the Oilers held a 6-1 edge in shots.

With 6:45 remaining, the Smyth-Jones connection worked wonders once more, but Quick stood tall again. No. 94 fed a cross-ice pass to No. 28 on a 2-on-1 chance, but Jones' misplaced shot was stopped by the goalie's desperate cross-crease slide.

Colten Teubert, who was recalled on Wednesday, got into the game late in the period when he crushed Los Angeles' Scott Prase into the corner-boards, rattling the glass and echoing throughout Staples Center.

At 18:53, Alec Martinez was called for holding, putting the Oilers back on the power-play. 53 man-advantage seconds and a 10-3 shot lead would be carried into the game's second period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Oilers' sputtering PP couldn't execute and the teams returned to even-strength action a minute in.

With the Kings pressing for the icebreaker at 4:00, Taylor Hall's own-zone aggression got him charged with a tripping minor, sending Los Angeles' fourth-best power-play to work. Khabibulin was tested with only one Kings attempt, but he turned it away to preserve the game's scoreless tie.

With minutes expired, the Oilers had extended to an 11-6 advantage on the shot clock.

At 11:26, the Oilers went up 1-0. Ryan Smyth used his ex-teammates as a redirection point, bouncing an attempted centering pass off Alec Martinez and Jonathan Quick as the puck pinballed across the line.

With 2:22 on the clock, the Oilers extended the lead when Lennart Petrell struck, scoring his first-career NHL goal in his 11th game. No. 37, curled from the corner, hammering a backhand through Quick to put the visitors up 2-0.

Anton Lander picked up his first-career NHL point (assist) on the play as well.

THIRD PERIOD

It didn't take the Oilers long to make it a 3-0 game. Just 1:06 into the period, Sam Gagner burst down the wing, beating the D wide and causing Quick to leap out to discourage a centering pass. Instead, No. 89 sliced behind the net and tossed a pass into the slot where Corey Potter pounced, potting his second of the season.

With 13:12 on the clock, a cross-checking minor to Ethan Moreau put the Oilers back on the power-play, causing bad blood to boil. Ben Eager and Kyle Clifford engaged in quick, but highly-spirited bout to help appease the anxious Staples Center crowd.

The Oilers were unable to score another goal, but continued to lead 3-0 as the period approached the 10-minute mark, with the visiting side up 24-15 in shots.

At 15:38, Eric Belanger picked up an interference minor, putting the Kings on their second power-play opportunity late in the game as they looked to get back into it. The Kings tallied an additional three shots on Khabibulin, excluding a near-miss when the puck struck 'Bulin's right goal-post, but couldn't solve the veteran.

The remaining seconds elapsed with ease as the Oilers escaped Staples Center with a hard-fought 3-0 blanking of the Kings. The orange and blue have now won six straight for the first time since March of 2002.

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