Oilers Frustrate Sharks Yet Again

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Eight months after the Edmonton Oilers turned a two-game playoff deficit into a big series victory, they've still got a mental edge on the San Jose Sharks. <br/><br/>Marc-Andre

Thursday, January 11th 2007, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Eight months after the Edmonton Oilers turned a two-game playoff deficit into a big series victory, they've still got a mental edge on the San Jose Sharks.

Marc-Andre Bergeron and Jarret Stoll each had a power-play goal and an assist in the first period, and the Oilers rode nearly two periods of penalty-free play to a 3-2 victory over San Jose on Wednesday night.

Mathieu Roy added his first career goal as Edmonton took a 3-0 lead in the first 11 1/2 minutes. Getting ahead was the easy part, particularly against a San Jose club prone to slow starts, but staying ahead required exemplary defensive play _ and the Oilers executed tremendously for another impressive win over the club it knocked out of last season's playoffs.

While San Jose complained about a disparity in penalty minutes that prevented its vaunted power play from taking control, the Oilers praised their own sharpness.

``We played really disciplined hockey,'' Roy said. ``That was the plan. They have the best power-play unit in the league, and we had to take that away from them. With their penalties, we took advantage.''

In other NHL games Wednesday, it was: Florida 5, Pittsburgh 2; St. Louis 3, New Jersey 2; and Buffalo 2, Chicago 1.

Dwayne Roloson made 32 saves as the Oilers held on in their first trip to the Shark Tank since last season's Western Conference semifinals, won in six games by Edmonton after San Jose took a 2-0 series lead into overtime of Game 3.

Edmonton also won the clubs' first meeting this fall in dramatic fashion, scoring five straight goals on Oct. 12 in a 6-4 victory, the Sharks' only loss in the season's first seven games.

``We knew we had to stay out of the box to win,'' Edmonton captain Jason Smith said. ``We got some opportunities on our power play and took advantage. They came back strong when we got penalties, but we were pretty lucky.''

The Sharks had bombarded Dallas, Detroit and Columbus for 13 power-play goals in their previous three games, but didn't get much of a chance to use Joe Thornton's specialty. Though the Sharks controlled much of the flow of play against Edmonton, the officials kept them on a parade to the penalty box with seven straight minor penalties in the first two periods.

``It's hard to believe that you spend as much time as you do in the offensive zone that more penalties aren't called on them,'' Sharks coach Wilson said. ``What are you going to do?''

Edmonton didn't receive a minor until Matt Greene was called for interference with 2:15 left in the second period, drawing a sarcastic standing ovation from the Shark Tank crowd.

``Probably Joe has ice on both hands. There was a lot of slashing,'' Wilson said. ``I certainly can't complain about the way we played. Territorially, we probably had the puck about 75 percent of the game, but the calls didn't go our way, so you move on.''

But Edmonton's penalty-killing unit _ the NHL's fourth-best entering the night _ also deserved credit. The Oilers did an outstanding job disrupting San Jose's side-to-side puck movement after the Sharks jumped into the league lead in power-play goals with their recent spree.

``We got off to a lead, and we defended pretty well,'' Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. ``We spent a fair amount of time in our zone, but we were in the right spots. We didn't get run over.''

The Oilers have earned a point from five straight games after a four-game losing streak.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored the Sharks' 14th power play goal in four games early in the third period, but their three-game winning streak was snapped. Marcel Goc also scored, and Evgeni Nabokov made 13 saves in his fourth straight winless start.

Cheechoo, voted an All-Star Game starter despite having just 14 goals and a minus-10 rating, actually thought the opening period was the Sharks' best.

``We just got away from how we played in the first period,'' said Cheechoo, who has heated up lately with three goals in his last four games. ``We were out-shooting them, moving our legs, and we got away from that.''

Sabres 2, Blackhawks 1

Ryan Miller made 34 saves and Jochen Hecht and Maxim Afinogenov scored to lead Buffalo past the slumping Blackhawks.

Miller wasn't heavily tested by sputtering Chicago, which lost its fourth straight. He lost a bid for his second shutout of the season when Denis Arkhipov had a short-handed goal with 49.1 seconds left in the game.

The visiting Sabres improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 with their second straight win.

Buffalo center Chris Drury was able to return to the game midway through the second period after hobbling off the ice early in the first.

Blues 3, Devils 2

Dallas Drake scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period and Manny Legace made 24 saves for St. Louis.

Keith Tkachuk and Dan Hinote also scored for the Blues, who won their second game in two nights, both on the road. Legace held off the Devils in the third period, stopping all 13 shots _ including Brian Rafalski's slap shot through a screen in the final seconds.

John Madden and Brian Gionta scored for the Devils, who had won three in a row.

Panthers 5, Penguins 2

Olli Jokinen scored three goals to help Florida get the win.

It was Jokinen's third career hat trick and his second this season. Jozef Stumpel and Martin Gelinas each had a goal and two assists for Florida, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five at home.

The Panthers have won 14 of their last 15 against Pittsburgh, including a 2-0 mark this season.

Evgeni Malkin and Colby Armstrong scored for visiting Pittsburgh, which has lost three in a row after winning three straight.