Post-Game: Game #55 Oilers 4 Senators 3 (OT)

Scoring Summary
1st Period
OTT Daniel Alfredsson 19 (Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza) 4:36

2nd Period
EDM Magnus Paajarvi 1 (Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff) 14:05

OTT Milan Michalek 24 (Jason Spezza, Bobby Butler) 16:23

EDM Ben Eager 6 (Jeff Petry, Anton Lander) 18:52


3rd Period
EDM Shawn Horcoff 10 (Ales Hemsky, Magnus Paajarvi) 0:42

OTT Erik Karlsson 9 (Unassisted) 9:30


OT Period
EDM Taylor Hall 19 (Shawn Horcoff, Tom Gilbert) 0:17

Penalty Summary
1st Period
2:25 Edmonton tripping - 2 min T. Hall drawn by D. Alfredsson
9:08 Ottawa tripping - 2 min B. Lee drawn by T. Hall
13:21 Edmonton interference with goaltender - 2 min T. Hall drawn by C. Anderson

2nd Period
2:50 Ottawa too many men on ice - 2 min Bench served by N. Foligno

3rd Period
None

Shots On Goal - Oilers 40 Senators 42

Game Notes:
- Messy game. A coaches nightmare. Endless line rushes, turnovers galore, sloppy defensive coverage by both teams. Even though all that was going on, both teams never gave up on the game which made it a fun game to watch as a fan, but through a coaches' eye, it was pretty disturbing. The Oilers were pretty resilient today. Fought back from deficits, gave away a lead, they had to keep drudging along this game to keep themselves in it mentally. A good sign for a team that has given up on some games way too early this year. Nikolai Khabibulin got the start today and was kept busy early and often. Gave up a couple of sifters from the point but kept his team in it while those in front him were coughing up pucks left and right. The Oilers aren't in position to turn away wins. It was an encouraging sign that the Oilers battled the mental demons in this game and still came out on top.

Player of the Game:
- Shawn Horcoff. It's been awhile since he has been a POTG. Horcoff and Hall played the opposites game today. Horcoff looked confident with and without the puck while Hall was chopping it into itty bitty pieces. Horcoff finally delivered a complete game in that he contributed offensively while stabilizing things defensively. 1-2-3 +2 was his statline. A solid days work from Horcoff which has been a long time coming. His linemates Paajarvi and Hemsky also has solid games and as a line were the most dangerous line of the day. Good to see these three have solid games and its been a long time coming for them. Though Horcoff was 7 and 15 on dot today.

Goat of the Game:
- Lennert Petrell. Managed to be -2 in 9 minutes. Only he and Lander were minuses on the day. I thought almost everyone brought some element to todays' game and everyone competed hard. The 4th line needs to cut back on goals against if they want to see more consistant shifts. Petrell did lead the team with 4 hits. It's a tough GOTG to hand out to Petrell but it is what it is. Through 60 minutes Taylor Hall might have ended up here but OT winners give you pardon.

Next Game - Wednesday February 15, 2012 vs. Maple Leafs @ Rexall Place on Sportsnet West.