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Stoll's shootout goal lifts Oilers to victory

Oct 5, 2007 - 5:52 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- For two periods, the fans at Rexall Place were deprived of offense. They got their money's worth thereafter.

Jarret Stoll's goal in the fourth round of the shootout capped an action-packed final 25-plus minutes and led the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks in the season opener for both clubs on Thursday.

Robert Nilsson and Joe Pavelski traded tallies earlier in the shootout before Edmonton goaltender Dwayne Roloson denied San Jose captain Patrick Marleau to start the fourth round. On the Oilers' next attempt, Stoll beat netminder Evgeni Nabokov to the glove side with a wrist shot, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"I just know (Nabokov) moves quick," Stoll said. "Sometimes you get a quick shot away like that. Just picking a corner and putting it where you want to put it, you're going to be rewarded."

Neither team was able to solve the opposing goaltender over the first 40 minutes, as Nabokov made 11 saves and Roloson stopped 13 shots. But the clubs combined for three tallies in the first 2:51 of the final session, with the Oilers coming out ahead.

"We're a lot better than that, and for a good part of the middle of the game, we didn't move pucks quickly," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "Along the way, we hit a few posts, and that could have given us a lot of momentum. A couple of mistakes that resulted in them scoring, you've got to give them credit, they played hard."

Entering as the NHL's leading scorer since 2002-03 with 413 points in 317 games, Joe Thornton received the puck behind the net and skated to the right side before dishing to Marleau, who beat Roloson from the low slot 26 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.

The Sharks' advantage lasted just 71 seconds, however, as defenseman Tom Gilbert drew the Oilers even at 1:37.

Working a give-and-go with rookie Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano skated to the bottom of the left faceoff circle before putting the puck in front. It caromed off the right skate of Gilbert, who joined the rush, and past Nabokov.

"It's a good example for the forwards, isn't it?" Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said of Gilbert's hustle. "He was in the right spot, and that's how you get a break. He really reads the play well."

After a video review by the replay officials, the tally stood, knotting the contest.

The sixth overall pick in this year's draft, Gagner recorded an assist on the play for his first NHL point.

"I don't think Sam played that much, but that's going to change in a hurry if he keeps playing like that," MacTavish said. "He makes smart plays and he plays the game with his head."

Less than two minutes later, Edmonton took its first lead of the season. Signed to a five-year, $27 million contract over the summer, defenseman Sheldon Souray unleashed a slap shot from the left point that was stopped by Nabokov.

However, the former Calder Trophy winner was unable to control the rebound in the crease, and Kyle Brodziak swept it into the net for a 2-1 edge.

"It was not really the shot, it was guys going to the net and paying the price in front," Souray said. "And that was a great play by Kyle to get in there and get his nose dirty, get in there and score goals like that."

"After that goal early in the period, we did a good job of getting the momentum back, scoring two quick goals," Brodziak said. "It definitely feels good."

With victory in sight for the Oilers, Souray was called for holding with 42 seconds remaining in the period. The penalty proved costly as Thornton fired a wrist shot from the right circle that found the top right corner of the net with 11 seconds to go, forging a tie.

"That penalty, whatever that was, I don't know," Stoll said. "It's a tough break, but you've got to regroup."

Nabokov stopped 23 shots for the Sharks, who have lost all four of their season-opening meetings with the Oilers.

"I don't think our execution was as high as it should have been," Thornton said. "It's tough to lose in a shootout. We had a good first period, terrible second, average third. Edmonton's a tough place to play. To get out of here with (a point) in the opener, it's all right."

Roloson finished with 28 saves for Edmonton, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five season openers.

"It was a fun game, I think, for everybody," MacTavish said. "It started off as you would expect, both teams were tight a little early. But both teams loosened up when the first goal went in, and then the game was on. ... Roloson gave us a chance to get out of the first period, then we settled in and got a chance to make a lot of plays."