Oilers, Brossoit beat Avalanche again
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Before this home-and-home series with the Colorado Avalanche, Oilers backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit had but one career NHL win. Now he has three.
Brossoit made 23 saves as Edmonton beat last-place Colorado 4-1 on Saturday at Rogers Place, two days after he appeared in relief of starter Cam Talbot and beat the Avalanche 7-4 in Denver.
The Oilers pulled even with the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks atop the Pacific Division. The teams have 91 points apiece, but the Ducks have a game in hand on the Sharks and Oilers.
The Oilers made it 3-1 with 11:14 left in the third on the power-play as Drake Caggiula deflected a shot from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Brossoit put an exclamation mark on the night with an outstanding sprawling save on Blake Comeau with six minutes left.
Nugent-Hopkins made it 4-1 with 4:26 left as the Oilers got their second power-play goal of the period.
Oilers defenseman Matthew Benning was helped off the ice halfway through the third after he blocked a shot from Rene Bourque. He did not return.
Only 1:54 into the game, the Oilers opened the scoring, with Benoit Pouliot getting a stick on Benning's point shot. The tricky deflection went in over the shoulder of Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard.
But 45 seconds later, Colorado evened the score as Sven Andrighetto blew around Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson and tucked the puck through Brossoit's legs.
The Oilers got the lead back at 10:47 with the red-hot Leon Draisaitl ripping home a cross-ice pass from Caggiula, who temporarily replaced Patrick Maroon as the left winger on the Oilers' top line.
Maroon was in the dressing room getting treatment thanks to a cross-check in the back from Francois Beauchemin, but he returned late in the first.
Draisaitl extended his streak to seven straight games in which he's registered a point. Connor McDavid, who also got an assist, extended his point streak to seven games.
The Oilers had the best chance of a scoreless second period when Jujhar Khaira, with an open net staring at him, fanned on a pass from Mark Letestu.
NOTES: The Avalanche allowed 19 third-period goals in their last five games -- all losses. ... The Oilers are 9-5-1 when wearing their orange third jerseys. .... The Oilers scratched C Matt Hendricks, D Eric Gryba, RW Iiro Pakarinen and LW Anton Slepyshev. ... The Avalanche scratched C John Mitchell, D Cody Goloubef and D Patrick Wiercioch.