Toews, Hossa Lead Blackhawks In 7-1 Rout Of Oilers
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — As badly as things have gone recently for the Edmonton Oilers, the Chicago Blackhawks came to town and made it much worse.
Marian Hossa had a goal and three assists, and Jonathan Toews scored twice as the Blackhawks routed the Oilers 7-1 on Saturday night.
David Perron scored for the lone goal for the Oilers (6-13-2), losers of six in a row overall and seven straight at home. Edmonton has yet to beat a Western Conference opponent, dropping to 0-10-1.
The Blackhawks took control with goals on their first two shots.
"That's about as long a game as I can ever remember, since I played pro hockey or coached," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said. "We come out there, the Chicago Blackhawks are here, our players were energized, our fans were energized, they dropped the puck and there was great energy on the ice.
"But when the first two shots go in the net, that will suck the life out of a team that has been struggling and trying to get through this."
Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said no team can afford to struggle this much at home.
"We had five straight games at home and we didn't take advantage of it," Nugent-Hopkins said. "It's unacceptable. It's not like we gave them a ton of chances, but we gave them really, really high scoring chances, made some big mistakes.
"It was 2-0 before we even know what happened. Then they started to feel really good about themselves and started to take it to us."
Marcus Kruger, Kris Versteeg, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane also scored for the Blackhawks (12-7-1), who have won three straight and five of six.
They are 2-0 so far on a six-game trip.
"It's an excellent start to our road trip," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I like the way we have played and the way we are getting our four-line rotation. We have got some momentum going right now."
Hossa's four-point night was his best with the Blackhawks, and it helped him break out of a slump.
"After nine games without scoring, it is always a relief to get one," Hossa said. "I have felt good on the ice of late and haven't really been worried about not scoring, as long as I am playing my game."
Four minutes into the first period, Brandon Saad made a nice cross-ice pass to a wide-open Toews, who switched from his backhand on a deke before sliding the puck through the legs of Oilers starting goalie Ben Scrivens for his eighth goal of the season.
Just 55 seconds later Edmonton defender Justin Schultz made a soft no-look backhand attempt to clear the puck and it was picked off by Kruger, who beat Scrivens with a hard one-timer up high to make it 2-0.
Chicago took a three-goal lead with four minutes left in the opening period as Hossa outhustled the Oilers to a puck in the corner and sent it back to Seabrook, who sent a slap shot through traffic that Toews got a piece of on the way into the net.
The Hawks had just eight shots in the first period against five by the Oilers on Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.
Chicago took a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the second period on a two-man advantage. The puck dribbled underneath Scrivens and was headed into the net before Oilers defender Andrew Ference gave it a helping hand in a goal that was credited to Versteeg.
The Blackhawks scored again on the second half of the power play as well. Bryan Bickell shot was deflected on the way to the net and the rebound came to Hossa on the doorstep for his third of the year.
Scrivens was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots, with backup Viktor Fasth coming in to replace him.
The move didn't do much as the Blackhawks scored on their second shot on Fasth, with Keith moving in from the point and unleashing a hard shot for the goal. The three goals to start the second period came in a span of 2:31, giving the Blackhawks six goals at a time the Oilers had just five shots.
Edmonton finally broke Crawford's shutout bid with 12 minutes left in the second period as Perron tipped Justin Schultz's shot into the net for his second of the season.
NOTES: It was the first of three games this season between the teams. The Blackhawks swept three games last season, scoring five goals in each. ... Chicago hasn't lost in Edmonton since Feb. 2, 2012, when Sam Gagner had eight points for the Oilers. ... G Antti Raanta was expected to start for Chicago but missed the game with an illness. There was no backup for Crawford. ... F Phillip Danault made his NHL debut for Chicago after being called up from Rockford of the AHL on Friday. ... Out with injuries for the Blackhawks were Patrick Sharp (knee), Trevor Van Riemsdyk (knee) and Andrew Shaw (upper body), The Oilers were missing forward Benoit Pouliot, who broke a foot blocking a shot Friday against New Jersey.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
