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No wimps allowed Edmonton evens series on Comrie's OT goal
Updated: Wednesday April 18, 2001 6:39 PM
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Mike Comrie gave Edmonton Oilers fans a sneak peek at the future. Once current Oilers star Doug Weight was ejected from the game, it was up to the future star Comrie to grab the spotlight. Comrie -- the diminutive Edmonton native many see as the heir apparent to Weight -- scored at 17:19 of overtime as the Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 to tie the Western Conference first-round series after four games. The best-of-seven series resumes Thursday in Dallas. All of the games have been decided by one goal with three of them being decided in overtime. Comrie was playing in Weight's spot after the Oilers captain received a game misconduct 10 minutes in for checking Stars defenseman Richard Matvichuk from behind. It was the fulfillment of a dream for the 20-year-old Comrie, who was born the year after the Oilers joined the NHL and watched from the stands as they won five Stanley Cups. But the 5-foot-9 college star the Oilers signed to a $10 million three-year deal Dec. 30 took it all in stride as he sat quietly in the dressing room.
"It was nice, but the most important thing is the win, going into Dallas with the series tied," he said. "It's only one game." Rather than savor the hard-fought win in Game 4, Comrie said the Oilers have to focus on winning Game 5 Thursday night. But after much prodding, he admitted he is enjoying his first taste of the NHL playoffs. "You can't even describe how much fun it is to play in the playoffs," he said. Comrie's goal came on a power play. Jamie Langenbrunner high-sticked Comrie and was sent to the penalty box at 16:21. It took the rookie less than a minute to make the Stars pay. Standing in traffic in the crease, Comrie whacked home a puck that Oilers workhorse Ryan Smyth had rolled out from behind the net. "It's nice to see someone like Mike, who has worked hard all year, get the game winner," Todd Marchant said. "He's been a terrific rookie."
Added Mike Grier: "I'm sure it is a dream come true for him to score an overtime winner here. He's had a ton of pressure on him being a local kid." Anson Carter opened the scoring with his second goal of the playoffs at 14:24 of the second period, set up by Comrie and Eric Brewer. Mike Keane tied it for Dallas with 6:45 left in the third period. Tommy Salo got the Oilers to overtime with a spectacular save off Mike Modano as regulation time drew to a close. Salo finished with 34 saves, and Stars goalie Ed Belfour made 30 stops. Dallas head coach Ken Hitchcock said he expected his club to bounce back and use Tuesday's game as motivation for Game 5. "Now it's our turn," he said. "It's our building. It's our fans."
Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe said he didn't expect Comrie to play such an integral role on the team so quickly. "I think I just expected a gritty kid and that's what you are seeing," he said. Weight, Edmonton's regular-season scoring leader, was ejected and assessed a five-minute penalty for drilling Matvichuk into the boards. Matvichuk had to be helped off the ice and didn't return. "The players wanted to pick it up for Dougie as much as they can," Lowe said. "I think everybody wanted the series to continue on." It was not a game for the faint of heart, as both teams delivered punishing hits. Leading the way for the Oilers with seven crushing bodychecks was defenseman Jason Smith. He twice leveled Benoit Hogue, the overtime hero of Game 3. "Jason Smith was on a search-and-destroy mission from the drop of the puck," Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish said. Carter opened the scoring when he broke in alone and ripped a shot past Belfour. With the Oilers running around in their own end midway through the third period, Dallas struck back. Keane, standing at the edge of the Oilers crease, whipped home a pass from Kirk Muller, who had the puck behind the net.
Notes: Oilers LW Ethan Moreau, who bruised a foot in Dallas, was
in the starting lineup. ... Brewer is on a three-game playoff
scoring streak, notching five assists. ... MacTavish matched his kid line of Dan Cleary, Shawn Horcoff and
Domenic Pittis against the Stars grumpy old men: Mike Keane, John
MacLean and Kirk Muller. ... It is the third time the Oilers have
played three overtime games in one series.
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