EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Ethan Moreau's game is simple. If he is
moving in fine form, the rest just falls into place.
His power-play goal with 1:23 left in the third period led the
Edmonton Oilers to a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on
Thursday night.
Moreau sent a slap shot from the right circle over the blocker
of Jose Theodore for the winning goal on a power play.
"I'm skating well, and any time I skate well I'm going to get a
lot of chances," said Moreau, who has points in five straight
games.
Fernando Pisani netted his second goal of the game -- capping a
three-point night -- by scoring into an empty net. Pisani's first
came early in the third and tied it at 3. Marc-Andre Bergeron and
Raffi Torres also scored for Edmonton, which plays eight of its
next 11 at home.
Moreau got the stretch off to a good start.
"Now he's got the confidence," said coach Craig MacTavish, who
described Moreau's windup as "John Daly-esque."
Chris Higgins had a goal and assist, and Garth Murray and
Michael Ryder also scored for Montreal. It was the Canadiens' first
game of the season against a Northwest Division opponent.
The Canadiens, who killed off a double high-sticking penalty to
defenseman Mathieu Dandenault in the third period, were without
injured stars right-winger Alex Kovalev, captain Saku Koivu and
center Radek Bonk.
"We need some better efforts from certain individuals,"
Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "Our penalty killers were tired
guys at the end."
Murray opened the scoring, sliding the puck through the legs of
Edmonton goaltender Ty Conklin for his first goal of the season.
The Oilers then took a pair of high-sticking penalties in a span
of 6 seconds to set up Ryder's power-play goal. Canadiens center
Mike Ribeiro had an assist -- his sixth in five games.
"When we get the lead, we have to close the game better,"
Ribeiro said. "It's something we have to learn."
Conklin made 16 stops for his first win since Oct. 5.
"This was a game we had to win," MacTavish said.
Theodore finished with 23 saves for his seventh loss. He slumped
to the ice in the second period and stayed down for several minutes
after taking a shot on the knee.
Game notes
Canadiens D Mathieu Dandenault took four penalties. ... The
Oilers will play all 10 regular-season games against Eastern
Conference by Jan. 16. ... Canadiens owner George Gillett was in
attendance.