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Sykora, Smyth help propel Oilers over Avalanche

Oct 15, 2006 - 4:57 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Petr Sykora and Ryan Smyth continue to carry the Edmonton Oilers offensively.

Sykora and Smyth each scored twice to help lift the Oilers to a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

Sykora netted the game-winner 4:11 into the third period when he beat goaltender Jose Theodore on a wrist shot from the slot for a 4-2 lead. His first goal came at 8:46 of the first period and tied the game, 1-1.

"(Sykora's) a really smart player and I think we're a good fit for him," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "He can sit back and watch the forecheck and put himself in a position to turn the puck over. He thinks the game really well and he's putting the puck in the back of the net. Four goals in four games is great."

Smyth, who had a natural hat trick in Edmonton's 6-4 triumph over San Jose on Thursday, forged a 2-2 tie with a power-play tally at 17:14 of the second period. Shawn Horcoff assisted on both of Smyth's tallies.

"It's nice to obviously contribute that and get on the board early," Smyth said. "But we're getting the wins. A lot of them are lucky goals and little flukes here and there, but at the end of the day we're getting wins."

Dwayne Roloson made 39 saves to pick up the 100th victory of his career.

"I didn't even know it was my 100th win until I got the puck after the game," Roloson said. "It's always nice, but it's even better to get a win tonight."

"(Roloson) was unreal," Smyth said. "He stood tall, made some great saves. He deserves first star, no question."

The Oilers went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Avalanche - who got goals from Tyler Arnason, Milan Hejduk and rookie Wojtek Wolski - went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

"We did a lot of good things," Colorado captain Joe Sakic said. "We never quit and I thought we got a lot of chances. Roloson played real well for them. We just didn't have enough time to get back. We made a couple of mistakes, but I think in general the guys worked hard today. We just have to worry about next game and try to get two points."

Theodore made 21 saves for Colorado, which has scored just 10 goals in its four games.

"We had 42 shots," Avalanche center Ian Laperriere said. "We just have to keep putting it on net. We're all squeezing our sticks a little more. If we keep putting 42 shots on net every night, we'll have more chances to win than lose. I thought we put pressure on them and Roloson made great saves at the end, and kept them in the game."