Oilers rout Avs behind Hall's hat trick
The official game recap Edmonton Oilers vs Colorado Avalanche.Taylor Hall scored a hat trick, and Ryan Smyth set up three goals in the Edmonton Oilers' 8-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday at Rexall Place.
Smyth set up goals by Ales Hemsky, Mark Arcobello and Jordan Eberle to finish with three points.
The Oilers got off to a quick start, scoring three goals in the first period, after making three changes to the lineup in calling up a pair of defensemen and a center from their American Hockey League affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Hall scored two of his three goals in the first and Hemsky added another to send Edmonton into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead.
David Perron and Sam Gagner also scored for the Oilers (10-18-12), who won their fourth home game of the season.
Nick Holden and PA Parenteau scored for the Avalanche (19-7-0), who went into the game having won two straight and five of their past six.
Hall scored the opening goal of the game 3:44 into the first period, getting to a loose puck behind the Avalanche defense and beating goaltender Semyon Varlamov though the pads.
Philip Larsen cleared the puck from the front of his own net after a scramble in front and picked up the lone assist.
Hall scored his second of the period at 17:42, one-timing a Justin Schultz pass over Varlamov. The goal came on the tail end of an extended two-man advantage.
Hemsky added a third before the second penalty expired at 17:57, taking a pass from Smyth in front and getting around Varlamov.
The Avalanche had to make due without Jan Hejda for the majority of the game after the defenseman left with a leg injury after crashing into the boards midway through the first period.
Edmonton inserted defensemen Martin Marincin and Corey Potter, along with center Anton Lander, into the lineup Thursday after recalling the players from Oklahoma City.
In the second period, Holden cut into the lead at 4:20 when his shot bounced in past Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk off Nail Yakupov's skate.
The goal initially was credited to Nathan MacKinnon, who was battling for position in front of the Oilers net, but the scoring was changed on review.
Parenteau cut the lead to 3-2 at 9:28, picking up a rebound in front of Dubnyk, skating around the goaltender and putting it into an empty net.
Dubnyk had made the initial save on Gabriel Landeskog, but had the rebound get away from him, allowing Parenteau to gobble it up.
Perron scored at 12:06 of the second to give the Oilers a two-goal cushion heading into the third.
At 8:55 of the third, Arcobello increased the Oilers' lead to 5-2, taking a pass from Smyth in front and lifting a shot over Varlamov.
Eberle scored the Oilers' sixth goal at 15:19, also converting a feed from Smyth. Gagner scored the seventh at 18:30, before Hall picked up his hat trick at 19:49.
The Avalanche continue their three-game road trip Friday against the Calgary Flames. The Oilers host the Flames on Saturday in the third of their five-game homestand.
Dubnyk made 33 saves.
-- by Derek Van Diest for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
06/12/2013 - 07:00
