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BOX SCORE
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- A huge weight has been lifted off Mike
Comrie's shoulders.
Mike Comrie scored his first NHL goal and Tommy Salo made 29
saves as the Edmonton Oilers ended the Detroit Red Wings five-game
undefeated streak with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
|  | | Goalie Tommy Salo and the Oilers snapped the Wings' five-game winning streak. |
"To be able to contribute and get a goal at that time of the
game, it was exciting -- and a little bit of a relief," Comrie
said. "It's nice to finally chip one in and not have to worry
about it any more.
"The first couple weeks, I've been grabbing my stick a little
tight."
Janne Niinimaa also scored for the Oilers, who are 5-3-0 in
their last eight and remain one point ahead of the Los Angeles
Kings for eighth place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles beat
Carolina 6-3 earlier Saturday.
Comrie, a highly touted junior player who signed with Edmonton
on Dec. 30, tapped a rebound between Chris Osgood's legs 9:14 into
the third period to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead.
"I saw the puck sliding across the red line and I wondered if
it was going to go over," Comrie said. "It felt like slow
motion."
Comrie, who led the WHL in scoring before signing with the
Oilers, has a goal and two assists in first nine NHL games.
"It's a big goal for Mike," teammate Daniel Cleary said.
"That's probably the longest stretch he's gone in his whole career
without scoring a goal."
Pat Verbeek spoiled Salo's shutout bid with 2:37 left in the
game.
"They play tight," Verbeek said. "They don't give you a lot
of room. You have to fight for space. We had lots of chances
tonight. Quality chances. Sometimes it's just a lack of
execution."
The Oilers have won three of four games against Detroit, which
is 6-1-1-2 in its last 10. games.
"Somehow we match up well against them," Niinimaa said. "We
had our emotional level high for the whole game and Tommy made some
big saves."
Niinimaa gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 18:53
into the second period with a bullet from the point that beat
Osgood. It was the first power-play goal allowed by Detroit in four
games.
Comrie made it 2-0 after Daniel Cleary's shot handcuffed Osgood.
The Red Wings, who ended a three-game winning streak, are
6-1-1-2 in their last 10 games.
"We had a four-day layoff," Verbeek said. "It's always tough
when you're rolling and you want to keep going and there's a
break."
Edmonton's Mike Grier left the game in the third period with a
shoulder injury, but returned a few minutes later.
Game notes
Oilers defenseman Tom Poti missed the game with a bruised
sternum he suffered last Thursday in St. Louis against the Blues.
He's doubtful for Edmonton's next game -- on Monday at home against
the San Jose Sharks. ... Team captains Steve Yzerman and Doug
Weight wore jerseys with Hockey Fights Cancer commemorative patches
for the league's cancer awareness weekend. They autographed the
jersey after the game and donated them to an online charity
auction. All NHL captains wore the special jerseys this weekend.
... Before Saturday's game, the Oilers were 33-33-9 against the Red
Wings since joining the league 1979-90, with each team scoring 287
goals.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Edmonton Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 3
Atlanta 2
Los Angeles 6
Carolina 3
Colorado 2
San Jose 1
NY Rangers 2
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
Tampa Bay 0
Philadelphia 5
Florida 3
Toronto 2
Buffalo 0
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 0
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Sergei Fedorov Official Site
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