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Senators hold off Oilers to give Murray 600th career win

Feb 21, 2007 - 6:32 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Ottawa Senators coach Bryan Murray had to wait a little longer than he probably liked but it turned out to be well worth it.

The Senators continued their recent hot streak and earned Murray his 600th career victory with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Ottawa took a 3-1 lead on a goal by Daniel Alfredsson at 12:17 of the third period. Edmonton rallied to tie the game on goals by Petr Sykora and Tom Gilbert.

"It would have been tough to lose in overtime or shootout," Alfredsson said. "This one, Murray's 600th career win, was a really good game. There were a few mistakes and they scored as a result. But we won and it's two big points for us."

Gilbert's tally was the first of his career and came with only 19 seconds left in the third period.

After a scoreless overtime, former Oilers Dean McAmmond and Mike Comrie scored in the shootout to put Murray in exclusive company.

"The priority here was to win the game," Murray said. "We knew that at some point in time we would win another hockey game. Edmonton played awfully well in the third period, but we found a way. That's what you're supposed to do in your own building. Obviously, it feels really good to get 600 wins along with that."

Murray joins Pat Quinn, Dick Irvin, Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman in the 600-win club and is 600-456-131-12 in his career with Anaheim, Florida and Detroit.

"it's a great compliment to the players that I've had. There's no question about that," Murray said. "The teams I've coached, to win as many games over a career, I have to say that it's a compliment to them. It is elite company, there is no question about that. I respect that a great deal."

Martin Gerber made 27 saves and turned aside Ales Hemsky and Sykora in the shootout for Ottawa, which matched its season-high five-game winning streak, previously set from January 7-16.

"It was a really fast game and we played really well. We almost gave it away at the end but we came back," Gerber said. "Each game is important right now. If you look at the standings, everybody is moving forward and nobody is giving up. Each point is important."

Edmonton is off to a rough start on its seven-game road trip, going 0-2-2.

Dany Heatley scored his 33rd goal of the season in the first period and Mike Fisher added a tally in the second to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead. Sykora made it 2-1 with his first goal of the game, 1:34 into the final session.

"The first goal got through a lot of traffic in front. The second goal I had a lot of time off a turnover," Sykora said. "It's just the way it goes sometimes. I got a lot of chances in the first two periods and didn't score, but in the third I had two shots and scored two goals."