• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Oilers net record 13th shootout win, clip Red Wings

Feb 27, 2008 - 6:29 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Detroit Red Wings are still the NHL's best team, but the Edmonton Oilers are now the best team in the league's short history of shootouts.

Robert Nilsson scored the lone goal in the third round of the bonus format after Fernando Pisani tied the game with 29 seconds left in regulation as the Oilers edged the Red Wings, 4-3, on Tuesday night.

Mathieu Garon made 40 saves and denied all three shooters in the shootout for Edmonton, which set an NHL record with its 13th shootout victory of the season.

"When you have a goaltender that has only allowed two goals in 29 shots, that's pretty spectacular," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said of his netminder's shootout success. "Especially with the quality shooters you face at this level. One goal is normally enough in a shootout with Mathieu in net."

Nilsson provided just that in the bonus format, as he deked to the backhand and lifted a shot over the glove of goaltender Chris Osgood to seal the win.

"It's a great feeling to score in a situation like that," Nilsson said. "It's an honor to go out there and do the best I can and I managed to score."

All-Star Pavel Datsyuk and rookie Sam Gagner both had their backhand attempts denied in the first round of the shootout and All-Star Henrik Zetterberg and Ales Hemsky both hit the goalpost on their opportunities in the next round.

Garon denied Jiri Hudler in the third round to set the stage for Nilsson's winner. In the waning moments of the third period, Pisani poked in a power-play goal with his backhand during a scramble in front of the net to tie the contest at 3-3.

"Toward the end, we were just firing pucks and getting everything we could at the net," Pisani said. "It was a mad scramble in front and I just kind of chipped away at it and it trickled in."

Veteran Geoff Sanderson notched a breakaway tally just 1:44 into the third period to give Edmonton a 2-0 edge, but the lead would not hold as rookie Jonathan Ericsson's first career goal started Detroit's late rally.

Ericsson scored on a one-timer from the high slot on a man advantage at the 5:42 mark of the third to halve the deficit.

Datsyuk then evened the game at 2-2 on a power play with 7:42 left in regulation with his 23rd goal on the campaign. Datsyuk unleashed a wrist shot from right faceoff circle past Garon on the near side.

Valtteri Filppula took the puck into the zone and fired a sharp-angle shot between the pads of Garon with 2:16 remaining in the third period to give Detroit a brief 3-2 advantage. It was Filppula's 17th tally of the season.

Osgood turned aside 26 shots for the Red Wings, who are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games.

"I think we played good as a team," defenseman Andreas Lilja said. "I think we were worth two points today. It's too bad."

"We had a good game," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock added. "We just ended up being down two (in the third period). It's been tough lately, and tonight was no different."

The Oilers opened the scoring in the second period when Nilsson spotted Tom Gilbert at the opposite side of the net and slid the puck across to the rookie defenseman, who beat Osgood for his ninth goal of the campaign.