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DETROIT (Ticker) -- A rare goal by defenseman Jason Smith gave the Edmonton Oilers an even rarer road win over the Detroit Red Wings. Smith scored 88 seconds into overtime as the Oilers defeated the Red Wings, 5-4, for just their fourth win in 12 years at Joe Louis Arena. Coming off a 1-1 tie on Saturday in the first half of this home-and-home series, Edmonton squandered three leads before pulling out its first overtime victory of the season. Smith had three chances from the top of the crease before finally flipping a backhander past goaltender Manny Legace for his third goal of the season and 17th in 270 games with the Oilers. "I just tried to get involved with the play," Smith said. "The puck was sitting there and I whacked at it three or four times, and it went in the net." "That's great," Oilers center Shawn Horcoff added. "A guy like that who doesn't get that many chances to score a winner, when he does, it makes you feel good." Defenseman Steve Staios and Janne Niinimaa and Michigan State product Anson Carter also scored for Edmonton, which extended its unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) in the opener of a two-game road trip. "It's a big confidence booster for our team," Carter said. "We've been struggling a little, so to get a win at Joe Louis Arena, it'll pump us up." Brendan Shanahan's goal with 6:28 left in regulation helped secure a point for the Red Wings, who are 0-1-1-1 following a five-game winning streak. "The game was a funny game, up and down," Detroit coach Dave Lewis said. "And we found a way to come back a couple of times, which was good. And we got a point, which was good. ... It's just disappointing to lose the game here at home." Luc Robitaille ended a 12-game drought and gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period, but Edmonton struck twice during a 27-second span in the second. Staios put a wrister from the top of the slot through traffic at 4:59 and Carter beat Legace on a wraparound to make it 2-1. Defenseman Jason Woolley tied it at 16:27 with his first goal in a Detroit uniform, charging down the slot and converting a backhanded pass from Brett Hull. A power-play goal by Ryan Smyth just 1:50 into the third period put the Oilers back in front, but Sergei Fedorov fired a blast from just inside the blue line that tipped off the stick of Edmonton defenseman Eric Brewer and knuckled past Markkanen at 5:26. Niinimaa again gave Edmonton the lead with 7:24 to go in regulation, but Shanahan - playing his first game since his wife gave birth to twins - burst down the right side less than a minute later on a 2-on-1 and beat Markkanen under the crossbar with a snap shot from the faceoff circle. "I would have liked to have gotten a second one, just to keep it simple," he said, referring to twins Jack and Maggie. "I felt really good. It was surprising. I've been off my skates for a solid week, but as the third period came on, I didn't want to come off the ice." |
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