Edmonton Oilers lack shooting but overtake Montreal Canadiens 3-1 -NHL Match Update
Edmonton had only 13 shots on the Montreal net during their Tuesday night contest on November 8, 2011, and were outshot by 29, but the Oilers still managed to overtake the Canadiens, 3-1, at the sold-out Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
"You're disappointed with the score but it wasn't because of a lack of effort or lack of execution", Canadiens coach, Jacques Martin, said.
Veteran Edmonton goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin, showed another great performance to improve the Oilers to a 9-3-2 record, securing the second number spot in the Western Conference by blocking 28 of 29 shots for a near shutout.
"Great goaltending gave us a chance", said Oilers veteran Ryan Smyth, who took over the team lead with his seventh goal on an empty-netter in the final minute. "(Khabibulin) has been playing superb all year and we played tight in the first period and in
the second we loosened up a bit. In the third they had some chances but we found a way to hold on. It was a good road win".
After a scoreless first period, Ryan Jones gave Edmonton the lead they needed with his third goal of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season unassisted and shorthanded with teammate, Lennart Petrell, on the benches for hooking with a minor
penalty.
Edmonton had only four attempts on the Montreal net during the third and final period of regulation, but they still managed to capitalise on two of them to make their shooting percentage 50%.
Tom Gilbert scored 16:28 in while Max Pacioretty fired off his sixth of the season to bring Montreal within reach of the score and maybe force an overtime extension with 3:10 remaining to play, but Ryan Smyth secured the match with his goal at the 19:17
mark.
Edmonton now sits number two in the Western Conference with 20 points, below the Dallas Stars by only two. They hope to continue one of their best performances in recent years when they visit the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, while Montreal Canadiens
will be looking to snap their two-game losing streak against Phoenix Coyotes the same day.
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