Music: {allcanada} Bachman shutout leads Oilers past Stars

Friday, March 27, 2015

{allcanada} Bachman shutout leads Oilers past Stars

Angelina Jolie / Nascar / Nashville / Natalie Portman

EDMONTON -- The Dallas Stars failed to make up ground in the Stanley Cup Playoff race in the Western Conference, and were thwarted by a former teammate at Rexall Place on Friday.

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Richard Bachman made 29 saves for his second NHL shutout and first of the season in a 4-0 victory.

Bachman spent four seasons in the Stars' organization before signing as a free agent with Edmonton two years ago.

Friday was Bachman's first win of the season (0-2-1) for the Oilers.

Jordan Eberle, Derek Roy, Benoit Pouliot and Andrew Miller scored for the Oilers (22-40-13), who were eliminated from the playoffs for the ninth-consecutive season, but have won their past two games.

Kari Lehtonen made 23 saves for Dallas (36-29-10), which saw its four-game winning streak end.

The Stars are eight points behind the idle Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup playoffs from the Western Conference. Each team has seven games remaining.

Eberle opened the scoring on the first shot of the game, 33 seconds into the first period.

Edmonton broke out on an odd-man rush on their first shift and Pouliot slid a cross-ice pass to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers center fanned on his shot, but stayed with the puck, chasing it behind the net, then sending it to Eberle, who was trailing on the play. Eberle was able to sweep his shot past Lehtonen to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.

Each goaltender was sharp throughout the rest of the period and into the second.

Lehtonen kept the Stars from falling further behind, making a number of saves in the first period.

In the second, the Stars goaltender slid across his crease to rob Pouliot on a one-timer. Lehtonen, then stopped Nugent-Hopkins on a breakaway.

Bachman later made a sliding save, getting across to stop Patrick Eaves on a cross-ice set up from former Oiler Ales Hemsky.

Early in the third period, Bachman stopped Hemsky on a breakaway. Later Tyler Seguin was set up in front, but fired the puck over the net.

Roy gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead at 9:24 of the third period with his 12th goal of the season. The Oilers forward was first to a centering pass that bounced off the skate of Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski, and shot it past Lehtonen.

Pouliot scored at 13:32 to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead. Pouliot took a cross-crease pass from Taylor Hall coming out of the corner for the tap-in past Lehtonen.

The assist gave Hall four points in four games since returning from a leg injury.

Miller scored his first NHL goal on a penalty shot at 16:40. The Oilers forward was awarded the penalty shot after being hooked on a breakaway.

The Stars conclude their three-game road trip Saturday at the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton begins a three-game road trip at the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

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