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Penner's goal keeps Oilers' hopes alive

Mar 30, 2008 - 6:18 AM CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- Making the playoffs still is a difficult task for the Edmonton Oilers, but Dustin Penner refused to let them give up.

Penner snapped a tie midway through the third period and the Oilers held on for a 2-1 triumph over the Calgary Flames in Saturday's latest installment of the "Battle of Alberta."

Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov also scored and Ales Hemsky recorded two assists for Edmonton (40-34-6), which pulled even in points with Nashville (39-31-8) and Vancouver (38-30-10) - both of whom were idle - for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Western Conference.

"It's exciting," Grebeshkov said. "The playoffs have started for us already. We've got to win every game. We can give the best effort that we have."

"Really good effort by the team," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "We didn't have a lot of legs but showed a lot of heart. We started OK in the first, then in the second, they looked like they were starting to take it to us. But midway through the second, we showed we were leaving it all on the ice tonight. Great effort by the team."

Dwayne Roloson made 31 saves for the Oilers, who have just two games remaining. Both the Predators and Canucks have four contests left.

"It's a big game for all of us to climb up the ladder for the playoff picture," Roloson said.

"We've done a great job of handling the pressure of trying to climb back in the standings," Edmonton rookie Sam Gagner added.

Matthew Lombardi netted the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 19 shots for Calgary (40-28-10), which fell two points behind Dallas (43-29-6) for fifth place in the West. The Stars skated to a 7-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.

"We have to take the positives out of this," Lombardi said. "We can't dwell on this too long. There are not enough games left."

"I'm hoping that we will respond properly and our players obviously know the importance of the games remaining now," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "The teams that we will be playing will play with desperation and, hopefully, we can find that edge again."

With neither team able to break through over the first two periods, the Flames got on the board first at 5:43 of the third.

As Roloson slipped and fell, Lombardi unleashed a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot that sailed into the net for his 13th goal of the season and a 1-0 edge.

"I started falling backwards and I tried to stay up as long as I could to get my glove on it, but I was falling a little too quick," Roloson said. "At that point, you just hope you can put it behind you and your guys can pull it out for you."

Calgary had little time to enjoy the lead, however, as Edmonton answered just 67 seconds later. Grebeshkov pounced on a loose puck at the top of the slot and cruised in untouched before slipping it between the pads of Kiprusoff at 6:50 for his third tally.

"I got a lot of time and I pretty much can do anything," Grebeshkov said.

Less than four minutes later, Penner became the hero. From near the right wing boards, the 25-year-old moved across the faceoff circle and let go a wrister that beat Kiprusoff to the stick side at 10:48, giving the Oilers the 2-1 advantage.

"We've been down quite a bit lately in games," Penner said. "We've done a great job in coming back and staying calm on the bench, just knowing we can score goals. We've got a great offensive team."

MacTavish was impressed with Penner's performance considering the team was playing its second game in as many nights.

"He was tired," MacTavish said. "I mean, you get that big body around the rink a couple of times in 24 hours, it's a task. No doubting his willingness to work through it. He has an opportunity and put it in the back of the net. Good for him."

The goal held up despite some hairy moments late. With 51 seconds remaining, Alex Tanguay deflected a shot from the right point that hit the left goalpost and bounced into the crease before the Oilers were able to get it out of danger.

Tanguay and many of his teammates raised their arms in celebration, believing Calgary had tied the game. However, the referee immediately signaled no goal, and a video review confirmed the call, keeping Edmonton in front.

"The shot was coming to my glove side up high, and the next thing you know, I had no clue where it was," Roloson said. "All I heard was (defenseman) Tom Gilbert hollering behind me, so I just sort of laid down. The next thing you know, all these fireworks and everything are going off. I was trying to find the puck.

"It's been a long time getting a bounce like that. I've had the bad ones all year, so it's good to get a good one."

With the win, the Oilers improved to 4-3-0 against their provincial rivals this season. The teams meet for the last time at Edmonton on Tuesday.

Entering winners of three of their previous four games, the Flames lost in regulation at home for the first time in 10 contests (7-1-2).