• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Potulny, O'Sullivan help Oilers rally for win

Nov 19, 2009 - 5:41 AM EDMONTON, Alberta(AP) -- The Edmonton Oilers made themselves right at home after losing four straight games on the road.

Ryan Potulny and Patrick O'Sullivan scored third-period goals and the Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Wednesday night.

"Our guys have accepted losses a few times," Oilers coach Pat Quinn said. "There's been an, 'Oh, well, we played hard' response. But we decided to get going later in the game. We had a lot of verve later on. We were in a hole again and it was pretty easy to feel sorry for ourselves but we worked our way out of it."

After Sam Gagner pulled the Oilers within one with 16 seconds left in the second period, Potulny tied it on a power play at 2:45 of the third. O'Sullivan gave Edmonton a 5-4 lead with 8:53 remaining, and Alex Hemsky added an empty-net goal.

Shawn Horcoff and Gilbert Brule also scored for Edmonton. The Oilers improved to 9-10-3 with their third victory in their last 13 games.

"It was a huge win for us," Gagner said. "It's a big momentum boost for us, especially after four straight losses on the road. It's a good feeling. This is an important time for us with this stretch at home. We're below .500 but we feel it is a position we can battle back from. Hopefully we can keep on moving forward."

Milan Hejduk scored twice for Colorado (13-6-3), and David Jones and Kyle Cumiskey added goals. The Avalanche have lost four of their last five games.

"When you have a 4-3 lead going into the third on the road, you have to find a way to win that game," Avalanche coach Joe Sacco said. "Those are the ones you have to put away and we didn't do that."

Potulny tied it off a rebound, and O'Sullivan put the Oilers in front off another rebound after goalie Peter Budaj stopped Brule's wraparound attempt.

NOTES: The Oilers, 7-3-1 at Rexall Place, opened a five-game homestand. ... Chris Durno earned his first NHL point with an assist on Hejduk's second goal. ... Colorado will finish its three-game trip in Vancouver on Friday night.