BUFFALO -- Ales Hemsky decided to gut it out.
Having joined the team in Ottawa on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers winger was back in the lineup last night for the first time in nearly a week.
Hemsky had been bothered by a shoulder injury which kept him out the previous two games.
"I was comfortable to play," said Hemsky. "But it's still sore and there's not a lot I can do about it."
Hemsky set up the Oilers' lone goal in the contest, spotting Patrick O'Sullivan on a two-man advantage, allowing him to blow a shot past Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller.
Hemsky also had a few opportunities of his own, finishing with three shots.
However, despite the power-play marker, the Oilers failed to capitalize on a number of other good power play opportunities.
"We have to shoot the puck more, that's why we have good defencemen," Hemsky said. "We pass the puck around well, but if we don't shoot it from the blue-line, you're not going to score any goals. We have to get more shots."
The biggest squandered opportunity came late as the Sabres took a five-minute major late in the contest trying to hold on to a one-goal lead.
However, the Oilers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, eventually conceding an empty-net goal in a 3-1 loss.
"When we had that five-minute power play, we should score there," Hemsky said. "But it didn't happen. We just didn't get enough shots."
Grebeshkov injured
Defenceman Denis Grebeshkov injured his knee on the last shift of the game and has returned to Edmonton to be reassessed by team doctors. He's not expected to rejoin the team for the remainder of the trip which continues with a game in Atlanta against the Thrashers Sunday and concludes against the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday.
DEREK.VANDIEST@SUNMEDIA.CA
