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Pitkanen, Oilers remain perfect vs. Coyotes

Mar 16, 2008 - 5:47 AM GLENDALE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Defenseman Joni Pitkanen and the Edmonton Oilers extended the Phoenix Coyotes' home woes Saturday night.

Pitkanen snapped a tie midway through the second period and added an assist as the Oilers skated to a 5-2 triumph over the Coyotes on Saturday.

Ales Hemsky, Kyle Brodziak, Marty Reasoner and Fernando Pisani also scored as Edmonton improved to 3-0-0 against Phoenix this season.

Making his first start since February 1, Dwayne Roloson stopped 38 shots for the Oilers (35-32-5), who have won eight of their last 10 and remained seven points shy of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"It was a complete effort in Colorado (in Thursday's 5-1 loss) and it was a complete effort tonight from polar opposites of the spectrum," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said.

The win was Roloson's first since January 20 against Atlanta.

"I was just trying to focus on the things I had to do," Roloson said. "I made a few mistakes but was able to get away with them. We did the little things to win the hockey game."

Captain Shane Doan and Mathias Tjarnqvist tallied for the Coyotes (36-31-5), who fell five points back in the race for the last postseason berth in the West.

"Our offense as a whole was not good," said Doan, whose team held a players-only meeting after the game. "When that happens, you can only rely on your blue lines and goaltending so much. We haven't done anything as a group."

Phoenix finished 2-3-0 on its five-game homestand that welcomed four of the league's six Canadian teams. The Coyotes also saw their home record fall to 16-18-3, the second-worst mark in the NHL behind the Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers took the lead for good at 7:45 of the second period.

With the game even at 1-1, Robert Nilsson carried the puck into the offensive zone and skated below the end line on the left side of the net. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov left his crease and shifted to his right to block Nilsson, but the third-year center slid the puck in front, where Pitkanen eluded Doan and poked it into the vacant net for his eighth goal of the season.

"I think we played a great 60 minutes, every guy on the team," Nilsson said. "The goalie played good, the defense played good, we didn't have any turnovers today and every line scored. This is how I want us to play every game."

Brodziak doubled the lead with 4:46 left in the period, deflecting Zack Stortini's one-timer from the top of the slot past Bryzgalov. Curtis Glencross started the play by stealing the puck from Coyotes defenseman Nick Boynton behind the net.

"They came out playing hard, but we did, too," Brodziak said. "We did a good job of not getting into too much trouble."

Reasoner added insurance at 8:19 of the third as he buried a long rebound and, after Tjarnqvist tallied with 72 seconds remaining, Pisani sealed the win with an empty-netter in the final minute.

"Edmonton outplayed us," Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said. "They outskated us, they outchanced us, and it's as simple as that. We got beat to loose pucks, they had a little bit more discipline than we did as a team and they just played a much better hockey game. This was the biggest game of the year for us and we got outplayed."

Hemsky gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:17 of the first period on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.

Doan tied it at 4:03 of the second, when he deflected rookie Martin Hanzal's shot from right circle past Roloson during a man advantage.