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Photo Gallery: Oilers 6, Preds 1
Video Interviews: Trotz Post-game
           |  Player Post-game

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Zack Stortini scored two of Edmonton?s four first period goals to lead the Oilers to a 6-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

It was Edmonton's first win in Nashville since Oct. 29, 2005 as the Oilers had lost seven straight games there.

After starting the season with two consecutive wins, the Predators have dropped back-to-back games.

Seeing his first action of the season, Edmonton goaltender Jeff Deslauriers turned aside 40 Nashville shots to record the victory for the Oilers.

Stortini first struck at 13:58 of the first period on a power-play goal. With the Oilers already leading 2-0 after goals by Shawn Horcoff and Gilbert Brule, Mike Comrie found Stortini all alone in front of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne. Stortini stuffed the puck past Rinne for his first goal of the season.

Stortini struck again with 28.2 seconds remaining in the opening period when he carried the puck in from the left side and made a smooth forehand to backhand transition before sneaking a shot inside of Rinne's near post.

Entering Monday, Stortini had never recorded a multi-goal game in his previous 151 NHL games. Stortini had an active first period, as he engaged in a prolonged fight with Nashville's Triston Grant just 1:38 into the contest.

Nashville entered Monday as one of three teams who had not allowed a first period goal all season.

After stopping 41 of 42 shots against in a losing effort against Buffalo Saturday, Rinne allowed the four first period goals on just nine Edmonton shots. Dan Ellis replaced Rinne at the start of the second period.

Andrew Cogliano and Denis Grebeshkov also scored for Edmonton, and Dustin Penner had two assists.

Former Oiler Jason Arnott scored Nashville's lone goal in the final minute of the second period. The goal ended a 104:23 goalless stretch for the Predators. Arnott has three of Nashville's six goals on the season.

Notes: Edmonton D Taylor Chorney recorded his first-career NHL point when he assisted on Stortini's first goal of the game Edmonton C Mike Comrie has recorded a point in each of the Oilers five games this season Nashville rookie C Colin Wilson made his NHL debut Monday. He had been sidelined since training camp with a groin injury.


Post-Game Quotes:
Head Coach Barry Trotz
On giving up four first-period goals…
I thought we came out fine – we were all over them. I thought Deslauriers had to make a couple of quick saves. We had one breakdown, when one of our defenseman was pinching ill-advisedly; we had no support and they got a little bit of a read, a 2-on-1 and converted. In the first period against Buffalo we probably gave up three times as many chances than we did tonight. Every time Edmonton got a chance it ended up in our net.

We lost the game in the first period. We’ve got to regroup. It’s how we react tomorrow against Dallas and going forward. We’ll learn from this. No one’s happy to be embarrassed in their own rink.

If you cheat, the hockey gods pay you back and keep score for you. There’s a reason we have a plan, there’s a reason that we’ve got to have a lot of details. If you run into some adversity, you’ve got to stay with the plan – rely on your system and your foundation. If you get away from it, you start improvising, and only bad things can happen. Later on, with some of those ill-advised pinches, that was us trying too hard to get back in the game.

On the play of Pekka Rinne…
Tonight was a tougher night for Pekka. They didn’t have a lot of shots, but when they did, they seemed to find the back of the net.

On the Predators’ lack of scoring…
We’re four games into the season and basically one line has scored all of our goals. Our second, third, and fourth lines – they’ve got to contribute. There are guys that will have to step up, and play out of character if they have to – go to the hard areas once in a while and get a greasy goal. You’ve got to go to the net.

On changing line combinations in the third period…
I’m looking at trying to go forward here. I put Wilson and Erat and Ward together – maybe they’ll be able to do some scoring. They had some chances. The last couple of years we’ve had Legwand and Erat together – I’m not getting any production there, so maybe it’s time to move them around. I don’t think I have a whole lot to lose.

On Colin Wilson’s performance
On the scoresheet it was a really tough night for us, but individually, I thought Wilson was really good. He created chances, went to the hard areas and forced himself to the net. Good things happen when you do that. For someone who hasn’t played for quite a few weeks he jumped in there pretty well. I was very comfortable leaving him on the ice and playing him. He’s only going to get better. At his age, with his size and strength – he’s going to be a pretty good player for us.


Forward Steve Sullivan
On the overall game…
“I think we had some really good energy to start the game. I thought the first two or three shifts we were good. They scored on a couple on their chances and got us down, and we were just weak-minded and unable to get out of it from there.”

On letting the negativity effect their play…
“We weren’t able to stop the negative thoughts and the negative plays. I think we were trying to hit home runs after that, trying to catch up right away, trying to score three goals in one shifts to even up the game. You can’t do it that way.”

On the need to move on after tonight’s game…
“You lay an egg like this four games into the season, you take from it what you can, and then you move on.”


Forward Colin Wilson
On his first NHL game…
“You only get one first NHL game. It was really exciting, but obviously not the result we wanted.”

On wanting to contribute to the team…
“I’m coming in here, and I’m trying to help the team, so you know I want to do that as well as possible. And tonight’s 6-1 loss is not what I wanted.”

Talking about the difference of college hockey and in the NHL…
“Everyone is in the right position and everyone skates really fast. I think everyone is just that much quicker.”


Goaltender Pekka Rinne
On the overall play of the team…
“We didn’t play well that’s the bottom line, and I think it is that way for everybody. No one is really happy.”

On Colin Wilson…
“There were some positive things, like the play of Colin Wilson. He played a really strong game and it was good to see him on the ice.”

On moving on to the next game…
“I’m that kind of person that will think about it for awhile, tonight and probably tomorrow. Practice well tomorrow and work hard and that’s the thing that helps me, I just try to work hard and get it over with.”