It took 65 minutes and three shooters on each side, but Ales Hemsky finally helped the Edmonton Oilers snap a long losing streak to the Vancouver Canucks.
Hemsky scored the only goal of the shootout, lifting Edmonton to a 1-0 victory over the Canucks Wednesday night at GM Place in Vancouver.
Canucks winger Daniel Sedin tries to get a shot past Edmonton Oilers goaltender Matheiu Garon Wednesday night at GM Place in Vancouver.
(Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)
With five previous shooters denied, Hesmky skated in on Roberto Luongo and roofed a gorgeous backhand over the Canucks netminder.
Garon stopped Bryon Ritchie's deke attempt, pokechecked Brendan Morrison and got a piece of Ryan Kesler's backhand in the shootout.
Luongo, meanwhile, stopped Sam Gagner on his deke and watched as Raffi Torres muffed a shot from the slot before Hemsky's game-ending goal.
It was the first time Edmonton earned consecutive victories since the first two games of the season.
The victory for Edmonton (7-10-1) ends a seven-game losing streak to the Canucks (8-8-1) and improves its shootout record to 4-1.
Luongo and Oilers goaltender Matheiu Garon were spectacular between the pipes.
Garon, who's been in net for Edmonton's last three wins, made 29 saves, while Luongo finished the game stopping 19 shots.
Garon's performance only enhances his push for more playing time from coach Craig MacTavish.
That's because veteran Dwayne Roloson, the team's starting netminder, has gone 3-8-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average so far this season.
This was the first loss for Vancouver to a Northwest Division opponent. The team had won six straight games prior to its contest with the Oilers, but is just 2-8-0 against the rest of the NHL.
Plenty of chances
Despite the lack of scoring in regulation time, both teams had plenty of chances to win but couldn't find a way to beat Garon or Luongo.
Garon faced 23 Vancouver shots in the first 40 minutes and was at his best after robbing winger Brad Isbister in the crease with a pad save during the dying seconds of the second period.
Luongo, untested until making nine saves in the final 20 minutes, brought the home fans to their feet in overtime when he denied Oilers centre Andrew Cogliano with a terrific glove save.
The Oilers' Jarret Stoll left early in the first period as the centre went down after a knee-on-knee collision with Vancouver defenceman Alexander Edler.
But Stoll, who missed the final 30 games of last season with a concussion, returned for the start of the second period.
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