After a winless month of January, the breaks are starting to go the Edmonton Oilers' way.
Ryan Potulny scored the game's only goal during a power play with 17 seconds left, and the Oilers won their second straight following a 13-game skid, topping the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on Wednesday night.
With Philadelphia's Darroll Powe in the penalty box, Sam Gagner sent a backhand pass to the hard-driving Potulny. The former Flyers forward shoveled his 12th of the season past goalie Michael Leighton.
``We battled all game and worked hard. We deserved that one,'' Potulny said. ``We had a little luck tonight, but it's about time for us. It's just nice to get a win.''
Jeff Deslauriers stopped 33 shots to earn his second shutout of the season.
The Oilers have won both of their games in February after going all of January without a victory. Edmonton, which has only three wins in 23 games, broke an 0-11-2 slide with a 4-2 home win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
The Oilers have an NHL-low 42 points.
``When you lose 12 or 13 in row it does a lot to your confidence late in games,'' Gagner said. ``Being able to pull that one out against Carolina gave us a lot of confidence and it showed. Tonight we weren't tentative. We were playing aggressive right to the very end. We were able to draw a penalty and score on the power play.''
Leighton made 26 saves for the Flyers, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
``The team played well in front of me,'' Leighton said. ``Defensively, we're playing well, blocking shots, and our penalty kill was good. They kind of got a lucky bounce at the end.
``Their guy barely taps it in. It's a tough loss.''
Flyers captain Mike Richards took the blame for the goal.
``It was a missed assignment on my part,'' he said. ``We had a lot of chances and couldn't score. It's disappointing.''
The Flyers came close to scoring midway through the first period. Danny Briere stole the puck from defenseman Denis Grebeshkov in front, but was stopped in tight by Deslauriers.
With 4 minutes left in the period, Richards' shot at a wide-open net sailed through the crease - leaving him looking skyward in disbelief.
Philadelphia had 14 shots in the first, and Edmonton recorded 11.
The Flyers continued to dominate the quality chances in the second, particularly on a power play with 6 minutes left. Deslauriers caught a break with just over a minute remaining when Lukas Krajicek hit the post.
Ethan Moreau's shot to give Edmonton the lead with 6 minutes left in the game deflected off a leg.
Oilers defenseman Alex Plante, playing in his second NHL game, put a puck into the stands with 5 minutes to go but Edmonton killed the penalty for delay of game.
``I hate that call,'' Oilers coach Pat Quinn said. ``We should be able to determine a deliberate move on that, but not an automatic. But our guys rallied and did a pretty good job there.''
NOTES: The Flyers last beat Edmonton on March 19, 2001. The Oilers have six wins and a tie in the last seven meetings. ... The Oilers hadn't won back-to-back games since a five-game winning streak from Dec. 3-11. ... Edmonton D Sheldon Souray had surgery on Tuesday to repair a broken hand. ... Krajicek played in his second game since joining the Flyers as a free agent. He was brought in to help because defensemen Ryan Parent (back) and Danny Syvret (shoulder) are injured. ... Leighton played in place of Ray Emery, who had started eight consecutive games since returning from abdominal surgery. Emery, who was scratched, has never faced the Oilers. ... Philadelphia LW Daniel Carcillo played in his 200th NHL game.
