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Gilbert scores in OT to give Oilers win

Sep 28, 2009 - 3:02 AM EDMONTON, Alberta(AP) -- Tom Gilbert scored 1:57 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers snapped a four-game winless skid with a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in the final preseason contest for both teams Sunday.

Vancouver had tied it 1:16 into the third period as Christian Erhoff tipped a pass from Cody Hodgson for the Canucks' third power-play goal in as many opportunities.

Mike Comrie had a pair of goals and Shawn Horcoff and J.F. Jacques also scored for the Oilers, who finished the exhibition schedule 4-3-1.

Kyle Wellwood, Sami Salo and Henrik Sedin also scored for the Canucks, who had a strong preseason, finishing 7-0-2.

Edmonton struck first 8 minutes in as Ales Hemsky circled the entire Vancouver zone before finally unleashing a shot on Canucks goalie Cory Schneider. Comrie was on the doorstep to put in the rebound for his second of the preseason and team-leading ninth point.

It took the Canucks exactly one minute to respond. Willie Mitchell made a nice feed to spring Wellwood on a breakaway and he undressed Edmonton starter Nikolai Khabibulin with a backhand to tie the game 1-all.

Comrie got his second goal of the game with 5 minutes left in the opening frame as Lubomir Visnovsky cut in front of the net before putting a perfect pass onto the tape of Comrie's stick at the side of the net for his second of the game.

Two minutes later, the Oilers built a two-goal advantage on a power-play goal. Jacques sent a backhand pass through the crease to Horcoff who slammed home his third of the preseason for a 3-1 lead.

Vancouver cut into the lead with a power-play goal early in the second as Salo unleashed a slap shot from the top of the circle that beat Khabibulin high to the stick side.

The Canucks applied sustained pressure for a good portion of the first half of the period and it paid off with another power-play goal to even up the score 3-all as Daniel Sedin fed it to his brother, Henrik Sedin, at the side of the net and his hard shot clipped Khabibulin before fluttering into the goal.

Edmonton regained the lead with another power-play goal as a Sheldon Souray pass for the point deflected to Horcoff who quickly dished it to Jacques, who continued to look good on the first line with his third exhibition goal to put the Oilers ahead 4-3 after 40 minutes.

Both teams will play their first regular season games against the Calgary Flames. The Canucks start the season in Calgary on Thursday while the Oilers don't get underway until Saturday when they host the Flames.

NOTES: Both teams have some big decisions to make in the next couple days to get down to regular season rosters. The Oilers are still carrying 34 players while the Canucks have 37 players still up with the big club. ... It was the third start for Edmonton's big free agent acquisition, Nikolai Khabibulin. After earning a shutout in his first appearance, Khabibulin struggled in allowing four goals over two periods to the Calgary Flames before leaving the game due to dehydration. ... Cory Schneider made his second full preseason start for the Canucks. In his first appearance, he earned a 5-4 victory in a shootout against the Flames at GM Place, making 13 saves on 17 shots. ... Three Oilers were unable to dress due to injury as Fernando Pisani, Marc Pouliot and Ethan Moreau were all on the limp.