|
EDMONTON -- It would be difficult to find a team much harder to figure out than the Edmonton Oilers. Packers Richard Rodgers Youth Jersey . Taylor Hall scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Oilers bounced back from a stinker of a loss with a surprising 8-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. "Its always a fun night when you get a hat trick, but for us to win in the fashion that we did gives us some confidence," said Hall, who recorded his fourth career hat trick. "This homestand could prove to be big for us. "I havent been in this league long, but Ive been in it enough to know that anything can happen on any night against any team. You have to be ready for the opportunity. You just have to come out and play your game. Sometimes youre going to get eight and some nights youre going to get zero. And tonight was a great night." Ales Hemsky, David Perron, Mark Arcobello, Jordan Eberle and Sam Gagner also scored for the Oilers (10-18-2) who replaced a quarter of their lineup for the game after a 6-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday. The Oilers improved to just 4-9-0 at home, but have won six of their last nine overall. "I dont know if you see a score like that coming, but I think every morning you come into a game youre optimistic," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. "Over the last few weeks our group has taken a step in mental toughness and something in that degree. I didnt see a win of that score coming though, I definitely thought wed be in a tight game." Nick Holden and P.A. Parenteau responded for the Avalanche (19-7-0) who had won two in a row and five of their last six coming into the game. Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov allowed eight goals on 28 shots, however three of those came in the final five minutes with the game clearly out of reach. "What happened in the last five minutes, we have to look at each other and play for our goaltender there," said Avalanche assistant captain Paul Stastny. "Those last two goals are on us. We cant quit on our goaltender like that. He has been our best player all year. Hanging him out to dry like that is unacceptable." Head coach Patrick Roy wasnt as upset after the game as could have been expected from such a lopsided score. "Im not disappointed at all," he said. "(The Oilers) played well and scored power-play goals, they scored on the rush. We knew before the game that its a team that it would be very dangerous to exchange chances with. If they go on the rush, its their game and we played into it. We need to learn from it. "They scored three goals in the last four minutes or so. It was a closer game than the score showed I think." The Oilers started the scoring before the game was four minutes old as Philip Larsen sent a long breakaway pass up ice that Hall was able to catch up to before sliding the puck through Varlamovs pads. Colorado had a chance to pull even four minutes later on a five-on-three power play, but Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk stoned Matt Duchene on a glorious opportunity at the side of the net to preserve the lead. Avalanche defenceman Jan Hejda had to be helped off the ice with eight minutes to play in the first period after losing an edge and going heavily feet first into the boards. Edmonton made it 3-0 with power-play goals just 15 seconds apart with just over two minutes remaining in the opening frame. Hall got his second of the night and ninth of the season with 2:18 remaining on a five-on-three advantage, unleashing a bullet of a one-timer from the right face-off dot. The Oilers then took advantage of the remaining time on the power play as Ryan Smyth sent a pass to hit Hemsky in full flight and he undressed Varlamov with a deke before scoring on the backhand. Colorado got a goal back four minutes into the second period as a Holden point shot caromed off a couple of Oilers players before ending up in the Edmonton net. The Avalanche made it 3-2 midway through the second period. Parenteau was able to swoop in and pick up the rebound of a big Dubnyk glove save on a point-blank shot by Gabriel Landeskog and hook it into a wide-open net. The Oilers went back up by two goals with eight minutes left in the middle period as Perron went in on a 2-on-1 before electing to shoot it himself. It was Perrons third goal in the last two games and team-leading 12th of the season. Edmonton restored its three-goal lead with 11 minutes left in the third period as a pass ticked off of defenceman Nate Guenin before Arcobello kicked it up to his stick and beat Varlamov. The Oilers made it 6-2 with just under five minutes left as Smyth showed good patience on a 2-on-1 before hitting Eberle for his 10th of the year. It was Smyths third assist of the game. Edmonton added insult to injury with a pair of late goals. With a minute-and-a-half left, Gagner intercepted a pass and then took a nice return feed from Hall before sniping the puck past Varlamovs glove. Hall then got the hat trick with just 11 seconds left as he tipped a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shot on net and then followed it up to put home his own rebound. "There is tremendous amount of skill here and we have to utilize it on a daily basis," Smyth said. "We cant just sporadically use it. If we get consistent at it, were going to be successful." The Avs play the second of a three-game Western Canada trip on Friday in Calgary. Edmonton next plays host to the Flames on Saturday. Notes: It was the first of three scheduled meetings between the two teams this season. Edmonton came into the game with a fair amount of recent success against the Avalanche, having won seven of their previous 10 games at home against Colorado. ... Deeply disappointed in Tuesdays 6-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes at home, the Oilers switched out a quarter of their lineup from that game. Forward Will Acton and defencemen Denis Grebeshkov and Anton Belov were sent down to Oklahoma City while defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Jesse Joensuu were healthy scratches. Call-ups Anton Lander (forward) and Martin Marincin were inserted into the lineup, the first NHL game for Marincin. Also coming in were defencemen Philip Larsen and Corey Potter and forward Luke Gazdic. ... Edmonton goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was put on injured reserve with concussion/whiplash symptoms after being run over in the crease last Sunday in Dallas. ... Avalanche defenceman Ryan Wilson (back) and forward Alex Tanguay (knee) remained on injured reserve, while veteran defenceman Cory Sarich was a healthy scratch for Colorado, which came into the game after a four-day break. ... The Avs came into the game having recorded a penalty-free game against Minnesota on Saturday, but allowed three power play goals on Thursday. Packers Aaron Rodgers Blue Jersey . - Tarik Black pulled a Big 12 championship T-shirt over his broad shoulders, slipped a title hat on his head, and then gave Andrew Wiggins and the rest of his teammates a hug. Packers Jordy Nelson Youth Jersey ., continues his run in Melbourne tonight when he takes on Bulgarias Grigor Dimitrov in the third round of the Australian Open. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Martin Jones NHL debut ended in a nine-round shootout, with the Anaheim Ducks high-scoring lineup taking turns bearing down on the Los Angeles Kings new goalie. Jones faced up to the pressure and turned away everything he saw, leading the Kings to a strong start to the Freeway Faceoff. Jones made 26 saves before his perfect shootout performance, and Dwight King scored the only shootout goal Tuesday night in the Kings 3-2 victory over the Ducks. Jeff Carter and captain Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, who have earned a point in 13 of their last 14 games. They barely escaped Orange County with a second point thanks to Jones, the 23-year-old AHL goalie who got a promotion after Jonathan Quicks injury. "To be honest, Ive been in that situation before," Jones said of the lengthy shootout. "Obviously, the shooters are a little bit of a higher level up here, but I just wanted to stay patient and stick with what Ive been doing down (in the AHL). Jones has spent nearly three weeks as the backup to Ben Scrivens, who started the Kings last 10 games after Quick went down with a groin injury. Scrivens has been one of the NHLs best netminders in Quicks absence, keeping Jones out of the crease until this back-to-back set. Jones was ready for the long-delayed opportunity, even against Anaheims vaunted collection of forwards. "Once you start the day and start going through your routine, everything is pretty familiar," Jones said. "And its the same game. It was intense, for sure. I wanted to make sure I was just prepared and as focused as I could be, and try to enjoy it a little bit if I could. It was a great experience, and something Ive dreamed about for a long time -- playing in an NHL game and getting a win. It was everything it was cracked up to be." Southern Californias two NHL teams started off their season series with an entertaining game befitting two clubs entering the night with their best combined record (35-14-8) in the two-decade, 113-game history of this head-to-head rivalry. Anaheim veteran Jonas Hiller made a season-high 49 saves and stopped Los Angeles first eight shootout attempts, but King scored on a wrist shot before Jones stopped Mathieu Perreault to end it. "Its good to see a kid play in his first game and get a win somehow," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. "Hes aa pretty poised guy when you watch him. Packers Clay Matthews Elite Jersey. Hopefully this is something he can build on." Corey Perry and captain Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, still the only NHL team that hasnt lost in regulation at home. Anaheim is 10-0-2 at Honda Center, becoming just the third team to earn a point in its first 12 home games since the implementation of the shootout in 2005. "Its tough to lose it that way," said Hiller, who finished two saves shy of his career high. "I dont know if (King) missed the shot a little big, but it kind of caught me right between the pad and my glove. Its a tough one." Perry scored a tiebreaking power-play goal for Anaheim early in the third period, but Brown tied it for Los Angeles a few minutes later. Both teams had fruitless power plays during a hair-raising overtime, including a two-man advantage for Anaheim. "(Hiller) was tremendous," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He was the reason we got a point tonight. When you have the opportunity on your stick, whether you deserve to win the game or not, youve got to put it away. That killer instinct has been eluding us for a little bit now. Weve got to find it somewhere." The local rivals finally got their season series underway in front of a raucous bipartisan crowd. The 2012 Stanley Cup champion Kings and the 2013 Pacific Division champion Ducks are both serious title contenders again this year, and theyll meet at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25 for a landmark outdoor game. Perry put the Ducks ahead when he roofed a backhand off a pass from Penner, but just 3:29 later, Stoll won a faceoff to Brown, whose heavy shot escaped Hillers glove and trickled into Anaheims net. The goal was Browns first in seven games, just his second in 14 games. Los Angeles is in an 0-for-25 power-play slump over the past seven games. NOTES: Los Angeles scratched LW Daniel Carcillo and RW Linden Vey for the second straight game, dressing Matt Frattin and Colin Fraser. ... Anaheim scratched D Alex Grant, who scored a goal in his NHL debut in San Jose last Saturday. ... Los Angeles signed the 23-year-old Jones as an unrestricted free agent five years ago during his junior career in Calgary. He rose to a starting position for the Kings AHL affiliate in Manchester, but was stuck behind Quick and Jonathan Bernier, traded to Toronto last summer. ' ' ' |
