to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night.
"I'm feeling more comfortable," said Khabibulin, the
Russian star who signed with Edmonton after leaving Chicago as a free agent
during the offseason.
"I'm feeling a little better. There are still a few
things I need to clear up. The last couple of days I'm seeing the puck better."
Oilers coach Pat Quinn praised the goalie.
"He got us the two points tonight," Quinn said. "He was
very sharp. He was ready to play right off the bat which was a good thing
because we certainly let him get tested right off the bat. For the most part, he
was the story for us. He's been better in each one of his games. He was
excellent tonight."
Mike Comrie, Jean-Francois Jacques and Patrick O'Sullivan
scored to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead midway through the second period.
Brian Gionta and Roman Hamrlik scored for Montreal.
The Oilers finished 2-1-1 on their season-opening
homestand, while the Canadiens dropped to 2-3-0 – completing a five-game trip
with three straight loses.
"It's extremely disappointing," Canadiens defenseman Paul
Mara said. "I thought we played pretty well. We outshot them 35-19. It's tough
to lose these last three games after having a great 2-0 start. Hopefully, we can
make that ground back up at home and work on all of the things we need to."
Canadiens coach Jacques Martin was blunt in his
assessment.
"Where we lost the game was mistakes," Martin said. "Two
mistakes cost us two goals. It's disappointing because a win here tonight would
have made the trip a lot better. We just have to regroup at home now."
Edmonton only had six shots on Montreal starter Carey Price in the first, but
made one of them count with 1:20 left as Sam Gagner sent Comrie in on a partial
breakaway with a long pass. Comrie beat Price with a high wrist shot.
The Oilers made it 2-0 early in the second period when
Jacques tipped Ladislav Smid's shot through Price's legs for just his second
point in 64 NHL games.
Edmonton extended the lead 5 minutes later after Ryan
Stone stole a puck in the Montreal zone and sent it to O'Sullivan in front.
O'Sullivan beat Price with a low shot. Edmonton scored three goals on its first
10 shots.
Gionta scored with 49 seconds left in the second, and
Hamrlik completed the scoring with 3:22 to go in the third.
Notes
D Steve Staios returned to the Edmonton lineup
after missing time because of a concussion. He replaced D Sheldon Souray, who is
recovering from a mild concussion. … The Canadiens played without forward Glen
Metropolit (rib injury)