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Gagner's shootout goal lifts Oilers past Kings

Dec 4, 2007 - 7:39 AM By Niall Adler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Sam Gagner scored in the first round of the shootout and Mathieu Garon made all three stops in the bonus format as the Edmonton Oilers recorded a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

The youngest player in the NHL, the 18-year-old Gagner made a sharp fake and easily slid the puck past Los Angeles goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin for the Oilers' seventh shootout win of the season.

"It's a huge win for us," Gagner said. "We haven't been able to string a couple of games together. For us, the last three games have been solid."

Each time Edmonton has been taken to overtime this season, it has resulted in a shootout, where the Oilers are an NHL-best 7-1.

The game went into overtime after Ladislav Nagy tied the game at 3-3 with 1:28 remaining in regulation. Nagy scored after a scramble in front where he and defenseman Rob Blake were charging the net after a centering pass from Derek Armstrong.

"We did a great job of pressuring them (early), and were able to create turnovers," Gagner said. "We tried to carry that into the third period and we got away from that. It didn't work for us, but it's a learning experience and we are better off down the road for it."

The goal survived a booth review, as there was some question whether the puck hit off Blake's hand or Nagy's stick. Replays clearly showed the latter happened, which sent the game into overtime.

Defenseman Joni Pitkanen had a goal and an assist during a three-goal flurry in the second period to lead Edmonton, which won despite being outshot, 34-23.

After Pitkanen tied the game at 1-1 just 1:34 into the second period, the Finnish defenseman fed Dustin Penner to give the Oilers a 2-1 advantage.

After Dustin Brown answered with his own power-play goal just over two minutes later, Patrick Thoresen tapped in his first goal of the season to give Edmonton a 3-2 lead with 5:11 remaining in the period. Thoresen redirected a shot by Robert Nilsson to give the Oilers their second lead of the period.

Garon, who played with the Kings for two seasons before signing with the Oilers in the offseason, recorded 31 saves to notch his second straight win.

"I can't think of a better goalie to have in there during a shootout," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "He's tough to beat in a shootout. ... He doesn't need that many goals to win games for us."

"He's coming off a great game last night (at Anaheim)," said Gagner of Garon. "And he's getting his chance. He stepped up for us and played unbelievable for us."

Anze Kopitar scored his 12th goal of the season at 5:29 of the first period for the Kings, who have won just twice in their last 10 games.