Talbot, Oilers shut out Canucks
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Vancouver Canucks came to Edmonton on a five-game losing streak and were 18 points behind the Oilers in the standings, but it didn't seem to matter much when the puck dropped.
They gave the Oilers all they could handle and then some but still fell to Edmonton 2-0 Saturday at Rogers Place.
After Connor McDavid broke open a scoreless tie late in the second period, the Oilers couldn't exhale until Mark Letestu scored on a power play with 4:38 left in the game.
Cam Talbot, appearing in his 11th straight game, posted his sixth shutout of the season.
The win lifted Edmonton (38-24-9) out of the first wild-card spot and past the Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division playoff race.
After scoring 14 goals in their two previous wins -- 7-1 over the Dallas Stars and 7-4 over the Boston Bruins -- the Oilers were hoping the offense would continue to flow against one of the worst teams in the NHL.
That was not the case in the first period as Vancouver didn't give the Oilers anything. The Canucks held the home team to three shots on goal in the first 15 minutes and took a 0-0 tie into the first intermission.
It was more scoreless frustration for Edmonton in the second until McDavid finally took matters into his hands with 3:18 to go, stepping around Alex Edler and putting his 25th score of the season past Canucks goalie Richard Bachman.
McDavid jumped past Boston's Brad Marchand into first place in the NHL scoring race with 80 points.
The Canucks outshot Edmonton 11-1 in the first 10 minutes of the third period and hit their second post of the game, but couldn't find the equalizer.
NOTES: The Oilers have nine power-play goals in the last nine games. ... Vancouver is winless in its last six games (0-4-2). ... Twelve Oilers have scored in the last three games. ... Edmonton LW Milan Lucic has two goals and three assists in the last five games. ... Edmonton D Darnell Nurse has a goal and two assists and is plus-seven in his last three games. ... G Cam Talbot has appeared in 38 of the Oilers' last 42 games. ... Canucks C Henrik Sedin has 81 points in 90 games against the Oilers, his highest total against any team. ... Canucks G Richard Bachman played nine games over two seasons with the Oilers. ... Daniel and Henrik Sedin have been in on the same goal 702 times in their careers, the second-highest total in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky and Jarri Kurri are first at 764.