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Garon, Grebeshkov help Oilers drill Coyotes

Jan 11, 2008 - 6:32 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Mathieu Garon, defenseman Denis Grebeshkov and the Edmonton Oilers put an abrupt end to the Phoenix Coyotes' recent dominance on the road.

Garon made 29 saves - and denied Shane Doan on a penalty shot - while Grebeshkov scored his first career goal in 71 games as the Oilers cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Coyotes on Thursday.

Captain Ethan Moreau, Kyle Brodziak, defenseman Sheldon Souray and Robert Nilsson also tallied for Edmonton, which won for the fourth time in its last five games.

"Listen, they're playing well right now," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said of the Oilers. "They played with confidence tonight. They skated well, they've had a nice homestand here.

"We've been playing pretty well and we knew coming here would be a tough game in a tough building. They deserved the win tonight. It was their hockey game."

Blue-liners Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton each netted a goal and Doan had two assists for Phoenix, which saw its six-game road winning streak come to an end.

Garon has surrendered two goals or fewer in six of the last seven home games for Edmonton.

Moreau and Brodziak scored 28 seconds apart to give the Oilers a quick 2-0 lead just 2:15 into the game.

Just 1:47 into the contest, Moreau accepted a drop pass from Fernando Pisani and wristed a shot past goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov for his third goal in seven games this season.

Grebeshkov set up Brodziak 28 seconds later for his sixth goal of the season.

"We know what a crucial point of the season this is," Brodziak said. "Five games at home, especially playing some teams that we are going to be battling with for those last playoff spots. We knew tonight was a huge test, and we did a good job in it."

Souray increased Edmonton's bulge to three with a power-play goal 9:46 into the first period, and Nilsson gave the Oilers a 4-0 lead midway through the second. That tally also spelled an early exit for Bryzgalov, who was pulled after making just 11 saves.

"I didn't take him out after the fourth goal because it was his fault," Gretzky said. "I more or less took him out after the fourth goal to physically give him a bit of a break and get ready for (Friday) night's game in Vancouver."

Mikael Tellqvist replaced Bryzgalov and turned aside 17 shots.

Ballard scored with 3:24 remaining in the second period to spoil the shutout, but Grebeshkov tallied with 1:41 left in the session to give Edmonton a 5-1 lead.

Stationed on the doorstep, Grebeshkov tapped in an easy goal after receiving a beautiful cross-ice pass from Shawn Horcoff, who was named to the Western Conference All-Star team earlier in the day.

"It felt great to finally get one. It took me like three years," Grebeshkov said. "It was about time. Hopefully, it's the first of a whole lot more."

Phoenix defenseman Ed Jovanovski also was named to the All-Star team on Thursday.