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BOX SCORE
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The only one who worries about Jaromir Jagr is
the star forward himself.
Jagr ended a goal-scoring drought and helped the Penguins beat
the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 Saturday night, extending their unbeaten
streak to five games.
|  | | Jaromir Jagr insists he has no problems with Penguins coach Ivan Hrlinka. |
Jagr scored his 11th of the season early in the third period.
His only goal in the previous seven games was scored into an empty
net on Nov. 3.
The slump prompted Jagr to sulk in Wednesday's home win against
New Jersey. Cameras caught Jagr pouting at the end of the bench and
then engaging coach Ivan Hlinka in a discussion.
The two met behind after the game, leading to media criticism
that Jagr was being selfish and putting himself ahead of the team.
"I've got no problem with my attitude," Jagr said. "I feel if
this team is going to go somewhere, I've got to play good, not
lousy. The team has been playing great and that's why we've been
winning. But I want to fix myself. I know if I fix myself, we're
going to get even better."
Jagr pronounced Saturday's game a step in the right direction.
He hadn't had a shot on goal before scoring.
"I didn't play the way I wanted to play but it was a little
better," he said. "I felt more comfortable."
The Penguins have been getting production from their other lines
while Jagr has been battling through his slump. The combination of
Milan Kraft, Aleksey Morozov and Rene Corbet has produced at least
one goal in five consecutive games.
"That's great, but we cannot expect the third line to win games
for you," Jagr said. "That's why I was upset with myself, because
I didn't do my job. I read a lot of things that I'm blaming someone
else. No, I'm not. I'm blaming myself."
Jagr said that the goal drought was only part of the problem. He
said he could see his game lacking in areas that might not have
been as obvious.
"I was missing something," he said. "It was in the flow. When
the Penguins play great, we play in their zone, we cycle, make
quick passes and use our skill. That just wasn't there.
"One great thing that (former coach) Kevin Constantine said was
that the best teams always try to fix things while they're winning,
not when they're losing. I know we were winning and didn't play
well. I wanted to fix it so we could keep winning."
The victory was costly for the Penguins because defenseman Bob
Boughner broke his right wrist early in the first period. Boughner
was injured when he collided with Edmonton's Igor Ulanov and is
expected to miss six to eight weeks.
The Penguins were leading 2-1 at 4:53 of the third period when
Jagr wristed a shot over Tommy Salo's glove from the high slot.
Alexei Kovalev made it 4-1 at 6:34 when he put his own rebound past
Salo.
"We didn't get dominated but we had some individual
breakdowns," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "It was just
defensive lapses."
Mike Grier got Edmonton within 4-2 at 8:02 when he fought off
Josef Melichar's check and put a shot in off the crossbar.
Robert Lang scored an empty-net goal with 18 seconds left. It
was his eighth goal of the season and first not scored on the power
play.
Josef Beranek gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead in a slow-paced first
period when his centering pass went in off a skate.
Chad Kilger tied it for the Oilers at 7:47 of the second, just
seconds after the Penguins killed four consecutive minutes of
penalty time. Melichar fanned on a clearing attempt and Kilger put
a shot past Jean-Sebastien Aubin.
The Penguins went ahead to stay at 14:54 of the second when
Milan Kraft knocked in a loose puck for his fourth goal.
The Oilers have lost three consecutive games after winning the
opener of a five-game trip that ends Sunday at Minnesota.
Game notes
Boughner's injury further depletes a defensive corps that
lost Ian Moran to a broken knuckle in Friday's 4-2 win at New
Jersey. Moran is expected to miss at least two weeks and general
manager Craig Patrick said he could miss as many as six weeks. ...
This is the first of two five-game trips the Oilers have this
season. ... The Penguins are 7-1-2 in their last 10 home games
against the Oilers. ... Pittsburgh is 3-1-2 in the second of
back-to-back games.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Edmonton Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Pens defenseman Boughner out six to eight weeks
RECAPS
Philadelphia 4
Ottawa 3
Nashville 2
Boston 2
Dallas 2
Montreal 0
San Jose 4
NY Islanders 0
Chicago 3
Toronto 3
Columbus 2
Phoenix 1
Buffalo 4
New Jersey 0
Pittsburgh 5
Edmonton 2
Calgary 4
Tampa Bay 3
Colorado 3
Anaheim 1
St. Louis 5
Vancouver 2
Detroit 2
Los Angeles 2
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