Oilers rally for win in OT

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