Edmonton Oilers win in overtime against Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 – NHL Update
Edmonton Oilers finally managed to snap their five-game losing streak after handsomely beating Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, in the National Hockey League (NHL) game in overtime on Sunday, January 15, 2012, at the Rexall Place.
Taylor Hall scored for the Oilers in the extra period after taking advantage of the shorthanded opponents.
Coach, Tom Renney, appreciated Hall for his inspiring performance while commenting that:
"If you look at the last few weeks, the one play that has answered the bell every night is Taylor. If you want to know what passion looks like in a hockey play, watch Taylor Hall. I'm not sure you can teach it. It might be part of your DNA. But I am glad
he's got it."
Kings’ goalie, Jonathan Quick, and his Oilers’ counterpart, Devan Dubnyk, did well to avert many scoring opportunities.
Quick made 31 saves while Dubnyk prevented the puck from entering the net 20 times. However, Quick allowed two goals, which led his team to the defeat.
"He was fantastic all night," Kings’ defenseman Rob Scuderi said about Quick. "You look at the two goals. I know one was even strength, but it’s pretty much two power-play goals. He played fantastic for us and gave us a chance. At least we got a point.’’
The Oilers were the first ones to score in the low-scoring game.
In the first period, Kings’ Dustin Brown was sent off for hooking Jeff Petry. The two-minute power-play proved to be more than enough for the Oilers to score.
The Oilers adopted an aggressive strategy and fired plenty of shots, which were smartly stopped by Quick.
However, the Oilers finally managed to beat the goalie. At 11:15, Jeff Petry fired a slap-shot from 54 feet.
Quick stopped the puck, which landed under the stick of Kyle Clifford, who instead of sending the danger away, give the puck away and provided an opportunity for Josh Green to score his first goal of the season.
Later in the period, Oilers’ Colten Teubert received a two-minute penalty for slashing Dustin Penner, but the Kings could not utilise the advantage and the first period ended at the score of 1-0.
After the scoreless second period, the Kings began accelerating in the third.
The Kings’ defensive line was present near the Oilers’ defensive zone. Justin Williams, however, was waiting at the back. He received the puck from his teammate and fired a shot from 22 feet. The puck moved like a bullet and got deflected off the keeper
and went into the net.
The scores remained levelled for the rest of the period and the game went into the overtime.
The Kings received a blow in the extra period when Williams was sent off for two minutes after high-sticking Theo Peckham.
During the power-play, Ales Hemsky fired a shot which was stopped by Quick. The puck rebounded off the goalie and found Shawn Horcoff’s stick.
Horcoff sent a pass to Taylor Hall who slammed the puck into the net to give his team the victory.
The Oilers are now going to take on Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, January 17, while the Kings will face Vancouver Canucks on the same day.
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