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Oilers edge Lightning in shootout

Dec 11, 2010 - 8:57 AM Edmonton, AB (Sports Network) - Jordan Eberle was credited with the winner and Linus Omark notched the clincher in the shootout as Edmonton got past Tampa Bay, 4-3, at Rexall Place.

Eberle took the first chance in the shootout and scored with a wrister to put the Oilers ahead. Marc Pouliot, Taylor Hall and Steven Stamkos all failed in turn to hit the net.

Omark, celebrating his NHL debut, then performed a spin move when picking up the puck at center ice, skated in and faked a hard shot from in front. The disc slid off the heel of his stick but managed to slip through the pads of Dan Ellis to end the game in Edmonton's favor.

Hall, Tom Gilbert and Magnus Paajarvi scored in regulation for the Oilers, who are without captain Shawn Horcoff but won for the fifth time in six outings.

Nikolai Khabibulin was strong in net, making 38 saves.

Randy Jones, Ryan Malone and Stamkos provided the offense for the Lightning, who have lost three of four. Ellis took the loss after yielding three goals on just 23 shots through 65 minutes of play.

Jones notched his first goal of the season 5:03 into the contest to give the Bolts the lead, then Paajarvi knotted the game at 11:37.

With 2:12 to play in the first, Malone netted a power-play goal and Tampa led 2-1 after one.

In the second, the Oilers had three straight odd-man breaks, and on the third try during a power play, Hall beat Ellis to the right post on a rebound and lifted the puck under the crossbar at 5:46.

Gilbert lifted the rebound of an Omark shot over a fallen Ellis to give Edmonton a 3-2 edge with 3 1/2 to play in the middle period, but Stamkos snapped a six-game goal drought with 8:27 left in regulation to knot the game, 3-3.

Khabibulin ensured the game would last to overtime by making a pair of saves in the final 30 seconds.

"I don't know if they even got a shot in the third period, we absolutely dominated them," Stamkos said. "Their goalie made some big saves. We didn't deserve that kind of fate tonight."

Edmonton successfully killed off a bench minor penalty in the final 60 seconds of the extra session.

Game Notes

Edmonton improved to 5-2-1 against opponents from the Eastern Conference...Horcoff has been reported to be absent anywhere from a few weeks to two months after suffering a knee injury during Tuesday's shootout loss to Anaheim...The Oilers have won three in a row over the Bolts, and have taken nine of the last 13 meetings with the Lightning since December, 1998...Jones snapped a 55-game goal drought.