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Reasoner's shootout goal halts Oilers' slide

Mar 24, 2007 - 6:26 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- It took the return of Marty Reasoner to put an end to the Edmonton Oilers' lengthy losing streak.

Joffrey Lupul scored late in the third period and Reasoner netted the lone shootout goal in the fifth round as the Oilers posted a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

Sidelined for the previous nine games with an injured right shoulder, Reasoner proved to be the spark Edmonton needed to notch its first win since February 23 against Detroit. The Oilers went 0-11-1 since that shootout triumph - including an 0-7-1 mark on home ice - and scored just 11 goals during the skid.

"It feels awesome to get this win," Lupul said. "The team really needed it, and hopefully, this builds momentum for the rest of the season. For not being in the playoff race, this was such an important win, one of the biggest this whole season."

"It's so great to overcome the dry spell," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish added. "This is going to be such a confidence booster for the team. ... I just told the guys, 'If we can figure out a way to score, we can win.' That's all there is to it."

Edmonton was on its way to another loss before Lupul scored his 16th goal of the season with 1:47 remaining in the third. After a scoreless overtime, netminders Peter Budaj of the Avalanche and Dwayne Roloson of the Oilers proved invincible through four rounds of the bonus format before Reasoner got his chance.

"Marty and Joff really put in the effort in this game, and this should be a turning point for the rest of the season, and hopefully, those guys can even continue on into next year," Roloson said.

Playing for the first time since March 1, Reasoner skated in and beat Budaj high to the stick side, depositing the puck just under the crossbar.

"I'm so happy I could score and be a real asset to the team," Reasoner said. "Rolly was outstanding and blocked some amazing shots and really held us together to get us to the point where I had a chance to shoot. ... It feels great to finally get a win. This team was on a pretty big low, so this means a lot."

Wojtek Wolski had an opportunity to extend the shootout for Colorado, but the rookie lost control of the puck while attempting a deke, giving Edmonton a split of its consecutive home meetings with the Avalanche.

Roloson kept the shootout scoreless with a pair of phenomenal glove saves on Marek Svatos in the first round and captain Joe Sakic in the third.

"I'm happy to get the win, especially facing some of the guys on that team," Roloson said. "Sakic is great on shootouts, so being able to stop him was something special."

"We got two chances in the shootout, so we had our chances," Colorado coach Joel Quenneville said. "But Roloson was great and made some pretty amazing saves in the shootout."

Roloson even impressed his counterpart with his display in the bonus format.

"Shootouts are, you know, either or," Budaj said. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but Roloson was hot and played well."

Ales Hemsky - who also returned to the lineup after an eight-game absence with a shoulder injury - and Petr Sykora also scored and Roloson made 43 saves for the Oilers, who completed the season series against the Avalanche with a 4-4-0 record.

"Rolly did outstanding tonight," MacTavish said. "He really came through."

Brad Richardson, Sakic and Svatos tallied for Colorado (38-29-7), who climbed within five points of idle Calgary (39-25-10) for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

"I think we played a pretty good hockey game," Sakic said. "We had a lot of chances, and I think Rolly played outstanding for them. Obviously, we want to get the two points, but we didn't."

"We almost have to win every game at this time of year," Quenneville said. "We still got one point. We knew they were due for a win, so it was a dangerous game coming in, and we didn't play our best, and that's what happens sometimes."

Tyler Arnason added two assists for the Avalanche, who are 6-0-2 in their last eight road games and 10-0-1 in their last 11 overall.

Richardson opened the scoring at 9:02 of the first period, beating Roloson with a one-timer from the high slot. Sakic doubled the lead early in the middle session, netting his 32nd goal of the season on a power play 52 seconds into the period.

Hemsky halved the deficit with a great individual play at 7:21. After skating down the left wing and having his shot blocked, Hemsky regained possession behind the net and backhanded the puck inside the right goalpost for his 10th of the season.

Sykora forged a 2-2 tie with 7:43 to go in the second, firing a rising slap shot from above the slot past Budaj during a man advantage. But Svatos restored Colorado's lead with a power-play tally of his own 4:40 into the third, jamming a loose puck by Roloson from the doorstep.

Lupul forced overtime when his wrister from the slot went between the legs of both defenseman Brett Clark and Budaj.

"I saw an opening low and decided to just let it rip," Lupul said. "I didn't want to think too much, and I guess it paid off."

"I thought Lupul was going to shoot high because he always shoots high, but it was just a little bit off the ice," Budaj said. "I thought I got part of it with my stick, but I guess it wasn't enough."