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Nolan, Flames knock Oilers out from playoff chase

Apr 2, 2008 - 5:35 AM By Chris O'Leary PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Edmonton Oilers kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday. On Tuesday, the Flames exacted revenge against their provincial rival.

Owen Nolan scored the game-winning goal with 3:44 remaining in the third period to power the Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Oilers.

After securing a 2-1 win over Calgary on Saturday, Edmonton (40-35-6) hoped to sweep the home-and-home series with its Northwest Division rival three days later.

"We believed that we could get in (to the playoffs) and that we had the type of team that could make some noise," Oilers center Jarret Stoll said. "It (stinks), but we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We battled hard when a lot of things were against us. And we never once used those excuses."

The Flames (41-29-10) not only ended the Oilers' postseason hopes, but remained one point behind Colorado (43-31-7) for sixth place in the Western Conference standings after the Avalanche skated to a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

"In certain areas, we'd like to have pushed back more than we did at times, but we found a way to win the game and that's what it's about at this time of year: winning games in different ways," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "After they got one, we settled down on the bench and had a little bit of a push after and got the goal right back. It was great."

After Curtis Glencross scored his second goal of the game to knot the game at 2-2 with 6:43 remaining in the third period, Nolan slammed the door on the Oilers' postseason hopes just under three minutes later with his 16th tally of the season.

From just in front of the right faceoff circle, Matthew Lombardi fired a shot on goal but was turned away by goaltender Dwayne Roloson. However, the rebound bounced right onto the stick of Nolan, who retrieved the loose puck and fired a lefthanded snap shot into the empty left side of the net.

"It's nice to get (a goal)," said Nolan in reference to his 22-game scoring drought. "I wasn't quite sure when the next one was going to come, it's been quite a while. I was just trying to keep plugging away in front of the net and hopefully get a bounce somewhere."

"Nolan - with the empty netter at that time - was unfortunate," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "I really thought we were going to get there. We all did. That heaps on the disappointment."

Defenseman Adrian Aucoin and Alex Tanguay also scored and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff recorded 28 saves to snap a personal two-game losing streak for the Flames.

"We knew they'd press really hard in the third," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "We've been in many situations like that. To come back and score a goal in that situation is tough because they have all the momentum. I thought we were able to play well after we did score in terms of defending the lead."

With Calgary ahead, 2-1, Glencross knotted the contest when he received a perfect pass in stride from Kyle Brodziak and beat Kiprusoff on a breakaway with a wrist shot for his 15th goal of the season.

For Glencross, it marked the second time he recorded two goals in a single game against the Flames this season.

Roloson turned away 14 shots for the Oilers.