Oilers beat Sabres in battle of basement

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[January 30, 2015]  EDMONTON, Alberta -- It was hardly a clash of the titans -- more a clash of the Titanics -- as the 30th place Buffalo Sabres took on the 29th place Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

But the two sides managed to deliver some pretty good drama in a 3-2 Oilers victory that went down to the final few seconds.

Oilers center Anton Lander led the way with a goal and two assists as Edmonton overcame an early 1-0 deficit, scoring three-straight goals and then fending off a late Sabres comeback.

"It was fun to play, and a big win for us," said Lander, as the Oilers celebrated their third win in the last four games.

"It's nice to get some wins here the last few games. It's a good thing we have going on now, we have to keep it going."

After a terrible start to their season, a 7-22-7 collapse that led to the firing of head coach Dallas Eakins, the Oilers appear to be gaining some traction under new coach Todd Nelson. They are 6-5-2 in the last 13 and seem to be picking up speed.

"The last four or five games we've been playing really good hockey," said Oilers center Derek Roy. "We beat Chicago and Washington, some good teams there. We just have to keep moving up the standings and learn how to win."

 

So even though the teams are only one spot apart in the standings, the Oilers were prohibitive favorites against a Buffalo team that has now lost 13-straight, having been outscored 56-19 over that stretch.

"We had our chances," said Sabres coach Ted Nolan, whose club is looking for its first win since Dec. 27. "With this team, we need everyone, we can't afford two or three guys not playing well or not giving what they have to give.

"It seems like the same ones over and over again, but we only have 20 players, who else are you going to put in?"

Buffalo managed to give the fans in Edmonton an early scare when defenseman Tyler Myers made it 1-0 just 2:22 after the opening faceoff, but the Oilers settled themselves and scored two goals less than three minutes apart. Left winger Matt Fraser scored the Oilers' first goal of the night at 12:27 while defenseman Oscar Klefbom added another at 15:02 to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

"The guys seem so much more confident and we show it out there," said Oilers winger Benoit Pouliot. "We're much stronger mentally. We just have to keep building on that, keep it going."

The second period was the kind of hockey many expected from the two worst teams in the NHL, sloppy, unproductive and scoreless, setting up the third period dramatics.

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Lander thought he sealed it with his first goal of the season midway through the third, but Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen threw a scare into things when he scored to make it 3-2 with 2:02 left.

The Oilers, who spent the first 36 games of the season collapsing in these types of situations, held firm and closed out the win.

"It's just hard work," said winger Luke Gazdic. "Tonight we just outworked them plain and simple. If we keep doing that we're going to have success against a lot of teams."

The Oilers improved their record to 13-27-9 while the Sabres fell to 14-32-3.

"I think we need to stay positive and just keep approaching every game like we're going to win the game," said Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth. "We can't go into every game thinking we're going to lose the game. We have to stay positive and still believe that we can win games."

NOTES: Oilers D Nikita Nikitin injured his shoulder in the third period and "will be out for a while" according to head coach Todd Nelson. ... Buffalo has the three worst plus-minus totals in the NHL in their lineup (D Josh Gorges, minus-27; D Rasmus Ristolainen, minus-24 and RW Chris Stewart, minus-24). Gorges played his 600th NHL game Thursday. ... During their 13-game losing streak, the Sabres have been outscored 56-19 and held to one or fewer goals eight times. ... Oilers LW Taylor Hall missed his second consecutive game with a bone bruise after being hit on the ankle with a shot in practice Monday. He is questionable for Saturday in Calgary. ... Sabres D Nikita Zadorov was a healthy scratch for the second straight game after returning late following the All-Star Game from a vacation in the Dominican Republic with his girlfriend. ... Oilers RW Ted Purcell played his 450th NHL game.

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