Music: {allcanada} Perron's hat trick leads Oilers past Canucks

Monday, January 27, 2014

{allcanada} Perron's hat trick leads Oilers past Canucks

VANCOUVER -- David Perron's second career hat trick and Jesse Joensuu's first goal in 15 games helped the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

The Oilers have back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 23 and 27.

Joensuu snapped a 14-game goal-scoring drought to put the Oilers ahead 2:20 into the third period, and David Perron scored his third goal of the night into an empty net with 1:09 left to lift the Oilers to the victory at Rogers Arena.

Ryan Smyth skated out of the left corner and fed a perfect pass to Joensuu atop the crease on the far side, and Joensuu slid the puck back between Roberto Luongo's legs as the Vancouver goalie slid toward him. It was Joensuu's third goal, his first since Dec. 10, and it gave the Oilers consecutive wins for the fourth time all season.

Perron set a new single-season career high with his 22nd goal after Ilya Bryzgalov, who finished with 25 saves, made a couple great stops late in the game. Nail Yakupov had two assists for the Oilers, who had snapped a six-game winless streak (0-5-1) with a 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators the night before.

Center Jordan Schroeder scored both goals for Vancouver in his first game back after missing 44 following surgery to repair a broken ankle.

Luongo started a second straight night and made 16 saves for the Canucks, who lost for the first time in four games this season against an Edmonton team that is last in the Western Conference.

Luongo made an incredible save six minutes into the third period to keep it close. He spun around and reached back over his head to swat a high, arcing deflection out of the air with his stick. But the Canucks couldn't take advantage, generating two shots through the first half of the third period before a surge in the final minutes.

Alexandre Burrows, who hasn't scored in 22 games this season, hit the post with five minutes left. Bryzgalov robbed Schroeder from the slot a minute later, then got some help as Ryan Jones swept the loose puck into him as it trickled toward the goal line. He robbed defenseman Dan Hamhuis on another great chance with 2:43 left, and Perron completed his hat trick after a Zack Kassian turnover.

Coming off a wild 5-4 overtime win against the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday, the Canucks seemed content to play a wide-open game early, handing the Oilers a handful of odd-man rushes.

Perron had a 2-on-1 feed hop over his stick in the opening minute, and Luongo stopped Oilers forward Taylor Hall on a 2-on-0 with Jordan Eberle eight minutes in.

Perron finally converted a 2-on-1 after a neutral zone turnover a little more than a minute later, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Sam Gagner past Luongo's outstretched glove.

Hall had a good chance from the slot blocked on another 3-on-2 a minute later, and Schroeder tied it at 1-1 at 12:33 after a big hit by David Booth forced a turnover behind the Edmonton net.

Schroeder's wraparound attempt went into the slot and the puck bounced off Oilers defenseman Corey Potter's skate before hitting the heel of Bryzgalov's stick, deflecting between the goalie's legs and going into the net.

It was the first goal in four games this season for Schroeder, who fractured a bone in his ankle blocking a shot in a preseason game against the Oilers, then broke the same ankle in his third game back.

Perron restored the lead after another Canucks turnover - this time it was Kassian who coughed up the puck just inside his blue line. Yakupov got around the defense and cut hard to the net, but lost the puck right into the slot for Perron, who fought off a Kevin Bieksa stick check and fired a quick shot that caught Luongo stranded on his goal line.

Schroeder got another lucky break off the skate of Potter to tie it 2:39 into the second period. After taking a drop pass from Bieksa at the blue line, Schroeder simply threw the puck at the net. It hit Potter's toe as he tried to fend off a charging Bieksa and went past Bryzgalov, who never dropped into the butterfly and looked as stunned as Schroeder that the puck went in.

Bryzgalov got a break when Ryan Kesler hit the post on a power play midway through the second, but he made two great saves on a Chris Higgins breakaway with 3:44 left in the period, getting a glove on the initial shot and kicking out the left pad to deny the rebound attempt.

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