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  Monday, Mar. 27 10:30pm ET
Moreau, Selivanov lift Edmonton late
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The Edmonton Oilers were strong at the finish, for a change.

The San Jose Sharks scored less than two minutes into the game, but third-period goals from Ethan Moreau and Alex Selivanov rallied Edmonton to a 2-1 victory Monday night.

Alexander Selivanov
Edmonton's Alexander Selivanov, about to beat Steve Shields for the tying goal, is pursued by Sharks defenseman Gary Suter.

It was only the Oilers' third win in 28 games in which they have trailed heading into the third period this season.

Edmonton goalkeeper Tommy Salo was superb in the second period, as the Oilers withstood five San Jose power plays.

"You see this happen often," Oilers coach Ken Lowe said. "San Jose had all those power plays and didn't score, so we find ourselves still only one goal down at the end of the second period. That gave us some life. Tommy Salo and our penalty killers made a big difference tonight."

Edmonton moved two points ahead of San Jose and Phoenix and into sixth place in the Western Conference standings. All three teams have six regular-season games remaining.

"We had a ton of opportunities," San Jose coach Darryl Sutter said. "We even had nine scoring chances in the third period. We just couldn't put them away in the second period."

The Sharks had been 26-2-1 when leading after two periods.

San Jose went up 1-0 just 1:29 into the game, when Todd Harvey collected Jeff Friesen's rebound and sent a shot through Salo's legs from 12 feet out on the left.

"The first Sharks goal was a really tough start for us, but we battled through it," said Salo, who stopped 24 of 25 shots. "And killing those penalties in the second period gave us some momentum."

The Oilers tied the game early in the third period, when Selivanov scored at the 1:23 mark on a backhanded shot from 8 feet away. Selivanov's first shot was deflected, but Jim Dowd gathered the puck in front of the goal and passed it to Selivanov, who had a clear shot to the right of San Jose goalie Steve Shields.

Moreau put Edmonton ahead with 12:20 left, picking up the rebound of Todd Marchant's shot and scoring from 12 feet out.

"I'll have to look at it on film, but I might possibly have been a little more patient on that goal," Shields said. "I didn't see the original shot, but I wasn't sure I had time to get across. Maybe I should have stayed up on my knees, but it's hard to tell. You don't want to be outmanned down low, but that's what happened."

The Oilers are 4-2-1 in their last seven games, while the Sharks are 5-3-1 in their last nine.

 


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 Vincent Damphousse is stopped by Tommy Salo.
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