EDMONTON — By the end of the second period reporters could tell they were watching history, and began dialling up the Elias Sports Bureau to find out what that thing is called when you don't lose.
Sure enough, late in the third they were scraping a month's worth of rust off the W, I, and N keys on their laptops.
One game away from the franchise record winless streak (14 games), the Edmonton Oilers shocked the world Monday night, overcoming weak goaltending and a depleted defence...
Oh, who cares HOW they won.
The important thing is they won. Didn't lose.
Beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2. Able to begin a post-game interview without using the word “frustrating.”
“It was fun, it was more of a relief,” said Ethan Moreau. “It’s good to see guys enjoying themselves; the game hasn’t been very much fun for us.”
The victory is just their second since Dec. 11, a 1-18-2 swan dive that sucked the life out of everyone even remotely associated with the team.
“We’ve been waiting for a long time now to get that win,” said J.F. Jacques, part of a fourth line that scored twice and kept the momentum in Edmonton’s favour. “We haven’t heard the music in here in a long time, it felt good. We knew it was going to take a hell of a game from all of us in here and that’s what we pulled out.”
The Oilers began with a glimpse of just how quickly things can go south for them. At 1:48 of the first period they had a power play. At 2:39 they took a penalty to wipe out the man advantage and at 2:42 they were down 1-0 on a goal that most goalies stop in their sleep.
A 14th straight loss seemed inevitable.
But the Oilers were in a different place this night.
“We stuck with it,” said Mike Comrie, who had tremendous jump. “There were times where we could have changed our attitude, but we stuck together and realized that if we’re going to win this game, if we’re going to win any game, for that matter, we have to play hard and stick together and not quit.”
The rally began with Jacques’ fourth goal of the season and Gilbert Brule’s 12th to give Edmonton the intermission lead.
Jussi Jokinen tied it for Carolina on a goal that was even worse than their first one - a weak backhand that went right through Jeff Deslauriers - which is the kind of adversity that usually doubles Edmonton into the fetal position.
Not this time. Marc Pouliot, who was going to be a healthy scratch if Ryan Potulny didn’t get sick, added a goal to go with his first period assist and Sam Gagner scored his fifth goal in six games to make it 4-2.
A win seemed inevitable. All that was left to do was close out the last 20 minutes. This time there was no collapse, No costly penalty. No terrible break.
“It’s not fun losing like we were, so this is a pretty good feeling,” said Pouliot. “We want to turn this thing around.”
And when it was over, a heartfelt standing ovation from a crowd that’s seen way more dogs than it deserves.
“It’s been a tough month for us,” said Comrie. “When the crowd gives you that type of reaction it’s a pretty good feeling. It was a genuine cheer. They’re the ones who are paying their hard earned dollars to watch us play. I’ve been in those stands before, so I know what (it’s like).”
