Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Oilers rally for win in OT

- By Shelly Anderson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Root Sports.

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Penguins blew a couple of leads and fell to the last-place team in the Western Conference.

Jordan Eberle set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for an overtime power-play goal as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Penguins, 4-3, Friday night at Rexall Place.

Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff made 27 saves but had his seven-game winning streak was halted, and the Penguins’ winning streak ended at three games.

The Penguins had been 5-0-1 in their previous six games against the Oilers and had been 4-1-1 in their past six games in Edmonton.

Edmonton was the livelier team early on. The Oilers took a 7-2 lead in shots, but Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff was sharp.

At the end of an Oilers power play, he made a point-blank save on Ryan Smyth.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma mixed his lines in an apparent attempt to spark some offense, sending Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — normally the first- and second-line centers — out together a few times with Chris Kunitz or James Neal.

That disrupted Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins’ matchup strategy some. He moved center Sam Gagner to the right wing on a top line with center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and left winger Taylor Hall. It was a line designed specifical­ly to play against Crosby’s line.

The idea was to try to find a way to neutralize Crosby and Malkin, although the Oilers didn’t expect them to play together.

“You’ve got to focus on a couple of players, and we all know who they are,” Eakins said. “You’ve got to be very aware of when they’re on the ice. Individual­ly, those guys can just crush you.”

The Penguins killed

two

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