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Monday, Mar. 13 7:30pm ET
Smyth's three in third power Edmonton | |||||
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- After four straight losses, the Edmonton Oilers weren't going to be picky about who they beat. Ryan Smyth scored all three goals in the third period and Tommy Salo got his second shutout of the season as the Oilers snapped their longest losing streak of the season, 3-0 over the reeling Atlanta Thrashers on Monday night. "This is a stepping stone," Smyth said. "We're going to look back and say these two points were critical. We were struggling, so it's nice to get a couple of points." The Thrashers have lost nine in a row and 21 of their last 22 games. Their record since a Jan. 14 victory over Philadelphia is 1-23-2. "Atlanta has not been playing very well lately, so people might be critical of the victory," Edmonton coach Kevin Lowe said. "I think it shows the guys hung in there. A bad bounce could have cost us the game, but it didn't." The game was scoreless after two periods, quite an accomplishment for Atlanta after losing its last two contests by a combined 14-1. "We can build on this," said Atlanta goaltender Norm Maracle, who made 27 saves. "We lost 3-0, but it was 0-0 going to the third. That's a great effort for us." After the game, the Thrashers completed a four-player deal with Los Angeles, sending captain Kelly Buchberger and winger Nelson Emerson to the the Kings for winger Donald Audette and defenseman Frantisek Kaberle. Atlanta general manager Don Waddell said he expected to make another deal before Tuesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. Smyth ended the scoreless duel between Salo and Maracle at 8:22. The Edmonton winger worked out of the corner and flipped the puck behind the net to Doug Weight. The Thrashers defense allowed Weight to set up, then lost track of Smyth in front of the net. He took a pass from Weight and flipped the puck in the upper left corner past a helpless Maracle. About 1 1/2 minutes later, Denny Lambert took out his frustrations by checking Todd Marchant from behind in the corner, leaving the Edmonton player crumpled on the ice. Marchant struggled to his feet and remained in the game, but Lambert was given a five-minute penalty and game misconduct. "We had a chance to win it and I took the five-minute penalty," Lambert said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I feel bad for the guys. They gave a great effort and deserved more than this; 3-0 is no indication of how the game really went." Smyth took advantage of the power play for his second goal, slipping a rebound past Maracle. Smyth finished off the hat trick with his 25th goal at 18:07, firing a slap shot from the top of the left circle that beat the Atlanta goalie under the right skate. Weight assisted on two goals and Salo made 24 saves in a critical victory for the Oilers. Edmonton's losing streak dropped it behind streaking Colorado in the Northwest Division and threatened the Oilers' Western Conference playoff spot. "We'll take the win," Weight said. "It was a huge win for us. I give Atlanta credit. They worked hard tonight." The game drew a crowd of just 14,311 to Philips Arena, smallest of the season for the Thrashers. Their previous low was 15,208 vs. Vancouver on Nov. 22. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Edmonton Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Edmonton 3 Atlanta 0 AUDIO/VIDEO   Ryan Smyth makes the goal to give himself the hat trick.avi: 630 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||