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Comrie's 3-point night leads Oilers

Sep 19, 2009 - 5:32 AM EDMONTON, Alberta(AP) -- Mike Comrie had three assists in his return to Edmonton and the Oilers remained perfect in preseason play, defeating the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Friday night.

Taylor Chorney, Patrick O'Sullivan, Shawn Horcoff and J.F. Jacques scored for the Oilers (3-0). Nikolai Khabibulin, making his first ever appearance for Edmonton, turned aside 18 shots for the shutout.

"It was nice to get the shutout but I wouldn't put a lot into it," he said. "It was still the preseason and they didn't have their full lineup. But it was still a nice way to start my time in Edmonton."

Comrie, a surprise free agent signing by the Oilers earlier this month after leaving the organization on bad terms in 2003, received a cheer mixed in with a few catcalls when his first assist was announced.

The tentative early response turned into a full-on chant for Comrie in the third period when fought Eric Himelfarb after having added two more assists to bring his preseason total to six points in two games.

"It was pretty special to hear them chanting," Comrie said. "It's always great to hear that but especially with what I have been through. I'm just thrilled. When I signed here it was something I hoped could happen. You never really expect that from a crowd.

"It's not a one-game thing, though. I'm going to have to work hard every night. They expect that from their players here and when they see it, they acknowledge it."

Oilers coach Pat Quinn said Comrie has exhibited a strong focus to this point.

"He is a guy who has not had some seasons that he is really happy with and he wants to prove to himself that he is still a good player," he said. "You don't play as well as he has and get the point that he has on the first couple of nights without concentrating on how you intend to play. He's off to a really good start."

The Panthers (2-2) played their fourth game in as many nights.

The Oilers scored 5 minutes into the second period when Ryan Stone feathered a pass to fellow rookie Chorney, who beat Tomas Vokoun with a hard shot to the glove side for a 1-0 lead.

Stone picked up a second assist less than 3 minutes later when Comrie sent a soft shot on the Panthers' net that O'Sullivan was able to tip in for his third goal in exhibition play and a 2-0 lead.

With 5 minutes to play and the Panthers short two men, Comrie fed a perfect pass to Horcoff, who had an easy tap-in for his second of the preseason.

Edmonton made it 4-0 on the same extended power play as O'Sullivan spotted Jacques streaking toward the net.