• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Oilers lose 12th straight game, fall 2-1 to Blues

Jan 29, 2010 - 6:37 AM EDMONTON, Alberta(AP) -- The Edmonton Oilers' losing streak is inching closer to record proportions.

Eric Brewer and Alexander Steen had goals as the St. Louis Blues beat Edmonton 2-1 on Thursday night and handed the Oilers their 12th straight loss.

Dustin Penner scored for the Oilers (16-30-6), who are on an 0-10-2 skid and have dropped 19 of 20. Edmonton is approaching the franchise record winless streak of 14 games set in 1993. That team had 13 losses and one tie from Oct. 16-Nov. 7.

"Nobody here wants to lose," Oilers goalie Jeff Deslauriers said. "I don't care if it is two in a row, or three in a row, or four in a row, much less this."

Edmonton has the fewest points in the NHL, five behind Carolina. The Oilers have won only once in their last 16 at home.

The Blues, 15-8-4 on the road, scored the winning goal on their only shot of the third period.

"The team played hard and did a lot of good things," Oilers coach Pat Quinn said. "We only give up that one shot and it happens to be a goal. It's those types of situations that have prolonged this. There isn't a soul in our room that doesn't hate this.

"You'd almost think the odds would eventually work in your favor."

Blues goalie Chris Mason finished with 24 saves.

"It was a tough game for us," he said. "We didn't play as well as we liked but we stuck with it and we were lucky enough to keep them off the scoreboard in the third period."

Any win is important to the Blues, who are trying to climb into the Western Conference playoff picture.

"We desperately need wins right now," Brewer said. "We are in a long drive here. We've made up a little ground, but it seems like everybody is winning games. You have to get points every night if you want to make up any ground. All we were concerned with was getting the two points."

The Oilers took a 1-0 lead 7:44 into the second period when Robert Nilsson made a pinpoint pass to Penner, who fired a shot off the shoulder of goalie Chris Mason.

St. Louis tied it just 17 seconds later. The Blues controlled play after a faceoff in the Edmonton zone and scored on a point shot from Brewer.

"That was a big one for us because it didn't let them build any momentum from that goal," Brewer said. "It was a tight game, so to be able to respond and keep them in check made all the difference in the world."

The Blues went ahead 2:09 into the third on their only shot of the period. Steen lifted a puck over sprawling defenseman Denis Grebeshkov and past Deslauriers for his 12th goal.

Edmonton had a great opportunity to score after pulling Deslauriers for an extra attacker, but Mason came up with a huge stop during a scramble in the final minute.

NOTES: The Oilers got C Gilbert Brule back in the lineup after he missed seven games because of the flu. Fellow center Mike Comrie returned from a 31-game absence caused by mononucleosis. Patrick O'Sullivan and Zack Stortini were healthy scratches. ... Oilers rookie D Taylor Chorney was in the lineup. Steve Staios and Ladislav Smid are still out because of concussions. ... Blues D Erik Johnson (upper body) was a surprise scratch for the Blues. He was deleted from the lineup during the pregame warmup. ... Blues RW David Backes played his second game in two nights after missing the previous three with an upper body injury. ... Carlo Colaiacovo (lower body) practiced with the Blues on Wednesday and could play as early as Saturday. ... The Oilers and Blues split their two previous meetings.