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Montreal, QC (Sports Network) – Tommy Salo made 26 saves and four different Oilers scored goals, as Edmonton posted a 4-2 victory over Montreal at the Bell Centre. Fernando Pisani notched a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who are 2-0-1 in their last three and won on the road for the first time this season.
Edmonton, which opened a six-game road trip, built a 4-0 lead on goals by Raffi Torres, Pisani, Cory Cross and Peter Sarno. The Oilers had scored just one goal in their first three road games of the year.
“It’s really good to start off on the right foot,” said Oilers forward Ryan Smyth. “We’ve got five more games in front of us and there’s no easy task here in this game any more so we’ve got to find ways to win games early and often and gain some momentum off of this.”
Sheldon Souray scored both goals for the Canadiens, who have lost two straight and are 1-5-0 in their last six. Souray has accounted for four of just the six goals Montreal has scored in those six games.
Mathieu Garon made 13 saves in defeat.
The Oilers cashed in a power play at 7:33 of the opening period to grab a 1-0 lead. Steve Staois had the puck at the left point and sent a shot toward the net. Marty Reasoner tipped it on goal and Garon made the save, but the rebound went directly to Torres, who quickly flipped a shot from the right side of the crease into the empty side of the cage for his fourth goal.
Pisani then scored an unassisted goal with 3:23 left in the period. A shot from the point was stopped in front of the net and a Montreal defender tried to clear it aside. The puck, instead, went to Pisani and he snapped a shot from the right circle past Garon for his second goal.
Edmonton added two goals in a span of just 22 seconds early in the second period for a 4-0 cushion.
Cross scored his second of the season at the 6:53 mark on a shot from the left circle and Sarno netted the first of his NHL career at 7:15 by knocking home the rebound of a Brad Isbister shot.
“It’s something I’ve dreamt about my entire life,” said Sarno.
The Canadiens finally answered just 37 second later when Souray intercepted a clearing attempt at the left point and blasted a shot through a screen for his fourth goal of the season.
Souray scored his second of the game on a two-man advantage at 6:45 of the third. He took a feed from Patrice Brisebois and rifled a one-timer home from the top of the slot.
Montreal couldn’t convert again with the remaining time on the power play and also failed to score with another man-advantage late in the third.
GAME NOTES:
The Canadiens were 1-for-7 on the power play, while the Oilers cashed in once on four chances with the extra skater…Sarno was playing in his first NHL game…Edmonton has won five of the last six meetings…Montreal has lost each of the six games when its opponent has scored first…Souray also had two goals on October 25 in a 6-2 loss to Ottawa.
