Final
Horcoff, Roloson lead Oilers past Blackhawks
Feb 10, 2007 - 6:02 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Martin Havlat spoiled Dwayne Roloson's shutout bid, but it was too little, too late for the Chicago Blackhawks.Shawn Horcoff had a goal and an assist and Roloson made 32 saves as the Edmonton Oilers withstood a late charge to record a 2-1 victory over the Blackhawks.
After blanking Chicago for more than 59 minutes, Roloson was in line for his fourth shutout of the season before Havlat scored a power-play goal with 32 seconds remaining. The tally extended the Czech's goal-scoring streak to five games and drew the Blackhawks within 2-1.
But with one last chance in the final seconds, the All-Star was unable to keep the puck in the offensive zone at the right point, allowing time to expire and giving Edmonton its fifth win in six home meetings with Chicago.
After helping set up Raffi Torres' goal early in the first period, Horcoff created breathing room just over three minutes into the third with a power-play tally. The goal, his 12th of the season, stretched Horcoff's scoring streak to three games.
"I have to do my part," Horcoff said. "I haven't contributed the way I need to offensively for most of the season. You just have to work hard, put pucks on the net, and they will go in."
Roloson turned aside 14 shots in the first period, 11 in the second and the first seven he faced in the third before Havlat cashed in. The win was the 22nd of the season for the veteran goaltender, one shy of his career high set in 2002-03 while with Minnesota.
"We knew what we had to do," Roloson said. "We need wins right now. We played with a lot of emotion, did the little stuff that we have to do to win hockey games."
Ryan Smyth, Petr Sykora and defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron each had an assist for the Oilers, who have won four of their last six games but sit eight points behind the Minnesota Wild for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
"We played a smart game, did what we had to, managed the puck well," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "A little unfortunate at the end, though, where you have the shutout and give it up with 30 seconds to go. But at this stage, we're not going to turn our nose up at the two points, for sure. Hopefully, we can build off this."
"We are a desperate hockey club right now and we can't have any passengers," Horcoff added.
Nikolai Khabibulin made 30 saves for Chicago, which fell to 3-2-0 on its season-high seven-game road trip.
"I don't think so," Blackhawks center Bryan Smolinski said, responding to the notion his team may be fatigued. "I think for the most part, it was a spirited game. It was just a lack of getting goals. We had some opportunities, but they are a desperate hockey team. They did a good job."
Torres opened the scoring at 4:29 of the first period, unleashing a slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Khabibulin to the stick side for his 11th of the season. The goal helped Torres atone for his mistakes in a loss to Vancouver on Tuesday, when he committed a pair of penalties that led to two power-play tallies by the Canucks.
"I knew I needed to redeem myself," Torres said. "So I guess you can say it feels pretty good to get one. But more importantly, we got a big two points, and we need every point we can get from here on in."
"He's been playing pretty well," MacTavish said. "The Vancouver game was tough for him, but he bounced back. Right from the outset, he was physical, and hopefully he can build on it. We need him playing well."
The Blackhawks nearly tied the contest in the middle session, but defenseman Steve Staios swept away a loose puck just before it crossed the goal line.
"He was huged, did a great job," Roloson said of Staios. "Especially in the first, he came up with a huge block off his back. I give a lot of credit to the guys in front of me tonight."
Horcoff made it 2-0 at 3:04 of the third. After getting the puck at the left side of the net, he pushed it across the goal mouth as Khabibulin was down outside of the crease. Smyth attempted a backhander from the right side, and Horcoff helped it across the goal line for a man-advantage tally.
With Edmonton's Ales Hemsky in the penalty box and Khabibulin pulled for an extra attacker late in the third, Havlat got Chicago on the board with a wrist shot from the blue line that got by a screened Roloson.
- NHL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
CHICAGO 0 0 1 1
EDMONTON 1 0 1 2 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: EDM - RAFFI TORRES 11 (MARC-ANDRE BERGERON, SHAWN HORCOFF)
4:29
2ND PRD: NONE
3RD PRD: EDM - (PP) SHAWN HORCOFF 12 (RYAN SMYTH, PETR SYKORA) 3:04
CHI - (PP) MARTIN HAVLAT 21 (CAM BARKER) 18:56
POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS:
Feb 9 11:30 PM - NHL
CHICAGO 1
EDMONTON 2
3RD PRD: CHI - (PP) MARTIN HAVLAT 21 (CAM BARKER) 18:56 (WITH EXTRA
ATTACKER)
Blackhawks vs. OilersFeb 9 11:29 PM - NHL
CHICAGO 0
EDMONTON 2
3RD PRD: EDM - (PP) SHAWN HORCOFF 12 (RYAN SMYTH, PETR SYKORA) 3:04
Blackhawks vs. OilersFeb 9 11:00 PM - NHL
END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
CHICAGO 0 0 0
EDMONTON 1 0 1 END OF THE 2ND
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: EDM - RAFFI TORRES 11 (MARC-ANDRE BERGERON, SHAWN HORCOFF)
4:29
2ND PRD: NONE
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
CHI 14 11 25
EDM 12 8 20
GOALIES:
Feb 9 10:36 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
CHICAGO 0 0
EDMONTON 1 1 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: EDM - RAFFI TORRES 11 (MARC-ANDRE BERGERON, SHAWN HORCOFF)
4:29
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
CHI 14 14
EDM 12 12
GOALIES: CHI - NIKOLAI
Feb 9 9:47 PM - NHL
CHICAGO 0
EDMONTON 1
1ST PRD: EDM - RAFFI TORRES 11 (MARC-ANDRE BERGERON, SHAWN HORCOFF)
4:29
Blackhawks vs. OilersFeb 9 9:16 PM
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