Last Game: Colorado Avalanche 1 at Edmonton Oilers 4 EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Ryan Smyth scored twice and Tommy Salo made 23 saves to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night. "We've played excellent hockey the last six to eight weeks," said Smyth, who opened the scoring in the first period, and made it 3-1 in the third just over a minute after the Avalanche broke Tommy Salo's shutout bid.
"We want to continue that right to the playoffs," Smyth added. "We want to move up as much as we can -- and we're in control of our own destiny."
Ethan Moreau and Mike Grier also scored for the Oilers, who have won three of their last four games.
Smyth opened the scoring in the first period, and made it 3-1 in the third just over a minute after Alex Tanguay broke Salo's bid for his club-record ninth shutout of the season.
"It was unbelievable to answer back in that fashion," Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish said. "Ryan, over the last couple or three weeks, is playing the best hockey he's played all year. He's carrying the puck and he's making plays." Tanguay deflected Ray Bourque's point shot past Salo at 11:29 of the third for his 26th goal of the year.
But Smyth redirected Anson Carter's centering pass by Patrick Roy on a 2-on-1 at 12:38 to restore Edmonton's two-goal lead.
"It's exciting to beat the No. 1 team in the NHL," Ryan Smyth said.
With the victory, Edmonton moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks, who lost 3-1 to the Dallas Stars. The Oilers are 1-2-1 against the Avalanche this season. Colorado won twice at home, and the teams meet again April 2 in Denver.
The Avalanche remained first overall in the NHL with 111 points, a victory shy of their franchise-record 50th win. The Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2 at home on Wednesday and are six points behind Colorado in the race for first in the league.
Smyth made it 1-0 at 9:39 of the first, deflecting Eric Brewer's point shot past Roy just seven seconds into an Edmonton power play. Smyth is on a career-best eight-game points streak, during which he has six goals and eight assists.
"They were aggressive," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said. "They capitalized on their first power play and had their legs after that. "They had a good start. They pressured us from the first drop of the puck. The Oilers showed up to play."
Moreau gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead 1:20 into the second, tapping in Todd Marchant's pass. Joe Sakic picked up an assist on Tanguay's goal, extending his point streak to 10 games. "They played very hard and moved the puck very well," Roy said. "They took the game very seriously -- like we did -- but I think they deserved the win more than we did. It was a good lesson for us. The Oilers seem to be for real."
Game Notes: Defenseman Adam Foote returned to the Colorado lineup for the first time since January 4, when he separated his right shoulder against the San Jose Sharks. Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake sat out his third straight game after spraining his right knee against the Sharks on March 20. The game was the 900th of Patrick Roy's NHL career. The last time the Oilers won 38 in a season was 1989-90, when Edmonton won its fifth Stanley Cup. Anson Carter's third-period assist -- the 100th of his career -- extended his scoring streak to six games. Grier's goal was an empty-netter with 12 seconds left. Despite extending his point streak to ten games, Joe Sakic had his team-best six game goal scoring streak snapped.
First Period: Scoring: 1, Edmonton, Smyth 28 (power play) (Brewer, Weight), 9:39. Penalties: Dingman, Col (hooking), 9:32; Nieminen, Col (boarding), 9:46; Cleary, Edm (roughing), 9:46; Ferguson, Edm (obstruction tripping), 13:20.
Second Period: Scoring: 2, Edmonton, Moreau 9 (Marchant, Grier), 1:20. Penalties: Muir, Col (roughing), 9:31; Horcoff, Edm (roughing), 9:31; Moreau, Edm (holding), 19:22; Forsberg, Col (boarding), 20:00.
Third Period: Scoring: 3, Colorado, Tanguay 26 (Bourque, Sakic), 11:29. 4, Edmonton, Smyth 29 (Carter, Comrie), 12:38. 5, Edmonton, Grier 18 (empty net) (Moreau, Marchant), 19:48. Penalties: Bourque, Col (tripping), 16:22. Power-Play Conversions: Colorado - 0 of 2, Edmonton - 1 of 3. Goalies: Colorado, Roy (29 shots, 26 saves; record: 38-13-6). Edmonton, Salo (25 shots, 24 saves; record: 35-23-10). A: 17,100. Referees: Fraser, Martell. Linesmen: Cvik, Gauthier.
