PITTSBURGH – The Edmonton Oilers gained some much-needed momentum on a difficult trip and a rare win in Pittsburgh.
Matt Hendricks and Jordan Eberle scored in a shootout and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Saturday night.
Hendricks deked around Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff to start the shootout, and then Eberle put a quick shot between Zatkoff’s legs. Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson stopped David Perron and Sidney Crosby.
Leon Draisaitl scored his eighth and Lauri Korpikoski his third and the Oilers ended a five-game road losing streak and three-game skid overall. Edmonton, playing nine of 13 November games away from home, opened its current five-game trip with regulation losses against Washington and Carolina, followed by an overtime setback Friday night at Detroit.
“It feels good to win,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought we had a good effort from a lot of players and the guys got a good reward. We buckled down when we needed to.”
After Edmonton led 2-0, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin scored his 10th and 11th goals early in the second period, but the Penguins dropped their second straight and have lost three of four.
Edmonton also won in Pittsburgh for the first time since Jan. 10, 2006 and has won here just twice in 22 1/2 years. Edmonton lost eight of its previous 10 against the Penguins.
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“Pittsburgh is a great team and it’s not an easy building to come in and play,” Nilsson said. “We battled hard.”
Malkin has seven goals and 10 points in his last six games and Crosby extended a season-high five-game point streak with an assist. Pittsburgh has at least one point in five of its last six games.
Nilsson, making his fifth start in six games, stopped 39 shots. Zatkoff, making his second start against Edmonton and fifth this season, made 34 saves.
“The third period and overtime could have gone either way,” Crosby said. “We had some really good chances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it off.”
Pittsburgh was forced to kill an overtime penalty after Crosby hooked Oscar Klefbom on a breakaway following a turnover. The Oilers nearly ended it in overtime, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ one-timer from the top of the crease sailed over the goal.
Zatkoff kept the game tied at 2 early in the third when he stopped Benoit Pouliot on a penalty shot. He denied Nugent-Hopkins later from point-blank range following Adam Clendening’s turnover, and then Iiro Pakarinen missed a centring pass with Zatkoff out of position.
“(Zatkoff) had a good game,” Penguins’ coach Mike Johnston said. “He played really well and was in a zone.”
Draisaitl scored his eighth of the season 2:02 into the game, converting a rebound off Taylor Hall’s shot. He has points in nine of 14 games since he was recalled Oct. 29 from AHL Bakersfield.
Korpikoski gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead later in the period with a power-play goal scored 5 seconds after Penguins D Rob Scuderi was called for tripping.
Malkin scored twice in the first 3:29 of the second period to tie it.
His first, scored 48 seconds into the period, was a dazzling goal that started when he stripped Klefbom on a backcheck in the neutral zone. Malkin entered 1-on-1 against Mark Fayne, spun to his backhand and roofed a shot over Nilsson’s shoulder.
“That’s one of those highlight-reel goals you’re going to see for the next couple days,” Johnston said. “Geno has been in a groove lately and he’s on top of his game. It takes high-end skill to beat a defenceman like that, spin and go top shelf on the backhand.”
Malkin tied it 2:41 later with a slap shot from the right point on the power play. The Penguins have a power-play goal in a season-high six straight games. Pittsburgh, which started the season with two power-play goals in its first nine games, has scored with the man advantage in 11 of the previous 14 contests.
Pittsburgh couldn’t come up with the go-ahead goal on a fi5ve-on-3 late in the second period and into the third as the game remained tied.
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