Oilers six game road trip finishes on positive note as Ty Conklin records 2-0 shutout in Minnesota.

Lineup
Torres	York	Dvorak	Brewer	Cross
Moreau	Smyth	Pisani	Smith	Staios
Chimera	Horcoff	Hemsky	Bergeron	Ferguson
Salmelainen	Stoll	Laraque
			Conklin
			Valiquette
Scratched: Laraque (hand), Reasoner (knee & ankle), Isbister (flu) and Salo (groin) out with injuries. Semenov was a healthy scratch.

Postgame

Ty Conklin made 22 saves and Moreau and York scored first period goals as the Oilers finished off a successful 3-2-1 roadtrip with a 2-0 whitewashing of the Wild

It was the first shutout of the Oilers '04 campaign and it was the first shutout of Conklin's career as the Alaskan native not only held down the forth kept it from nary a blemish.

Not to sound blase but Thursday night's result was basically par for the course when it comes to the Oilers matchups against Minnesota. Since that city re-entered the league the Oilers are a shocking 12-0-2-2 against their Northwest Division brethern.

Jussi Markkanen has recorded wins versus the Wild and hell even good old Joaquin "The Phoenix" Gage once notched a W in Minnesota on a Sunday afternoon where he stopped a penalty shot just for kicks.

That being said this victory was noteable by the way the Oilers won the contest. Edmonton and their management seem to be, well, trapped in the "Land Before The Trap." No's 17 and 99 are skating around this magical land scoring 70 goals and somehow leaving the impression that teams in 2004 with 30.9 million dollar payrolls can play uptempo hockey and win.

But Thursday night may have been a step in the right direction as the Oilers showed a willingness to look after their own end first and foremost.

Nobody's perfect though and the new defensive conscience immeadiately sagged in the first minute. Conklin would keep the slate clean, however, with a great reflex save off a goalmouth positioned Wes Walz.

Just a minute later the Oilers opened the scoring when Ethan Moreau began the forecheck and then finished the chance as he skated into the slot and sifted a backhand under the right arm of Wild tender, Dwayne Roloson.

Ty Conklin would rob Marion Gaborik on a breakway while the Oilers were on the powerplay and that would be all the scoring chances until Mike York made it 2-0 with less than five minutes to play. The newly minted centre started the play in the corner and then slipped the rebound into the open cage after Dvorak had slid a between the legs backhand on a startled Roloson

Minnesota looked more determined to start the second period but all their hard work and good intentions brought little success. Conklin would stop Dupuis from the high slot and Dowd from in tight but the Oilers continued to look after their own end and it was as uneventful of a frame as Oilers fans have seen all season.

Mind you no one's complaining. At least no one who likes their team to have a shot to get past the .500 mark

In the third the Wild had to abandon their trap and take more chances and both Ales Hemsky and Mike York had odd man rush oppurtunites. But Roloson stood firm and that gave the Wild at least a little bit of life.

But Conklin looked downright comfortable as the game progressed and victory was never in doubt.

It was the first win of it's kind for Edmonton. The kind where they don't spend the whole night scrambling around their zone and also one of the few times their goalie didn't give up a softy to delfate the bench.

Three Stars

Ty Conklin - He was out of position a couple of times but he made some great saves and didn't allow a softie.

Ethan Moreau - 15:20 of icetime that featured a goal and two shots on net. He also authored a hellish forecheck by another new version of the Oilers checking line.

Eric Brewer - 22:09 of what was basically mistake free hockey generously sprinkled with very aggressive play. Here was a night he looked the part of a near dominant defensive defenseman.

Oil Gauge

With Ales Hemsky scattered to the third line winds, Ryan Smyth moved to centre Moreau and Pisani and he went 3/10 from the dot but finished at 16:57. Hemsky was at 13:23 by the way..20:58 from Cory Cross. He's a last pairing defenseman, I repeat.......15:11 for Jason Chimera and he's making an honest to goodness attempt at improving his defensive play. I expect to see some offensive production from him once he starts feeling comfortable in his own end

PP: 0/1
PK: 2/2

News & Notes

A very effective night's work for the fourth line wing tandem of Salmalienen and Laraque. Both guys punished and muddled the Wild defense with their constant forecheck....The Oilers had an interesting approach towards killing penalties in this game: stay out of the box altogether. You have to admit it worked....Horcoff bounced back with a 10/18 night from the dot.

Next Game

Oilers head home to open a four game stand on HNIC vs the Flames. Oilers are already 0-2 vs Calgary this year.