Sludge in the Oil in Chicago

Edmonton gave up three goals on five shots in the first period, an amount that was more than enough for Chicago to pick up a rare win on Sunday.

The Oilers who did not get off to a very good start in this one, found themselves behind for good by the time the first intermission rolled around. Nikolai Khabibulan earned his pay in this game as he turned away 26 of the 27 shots the Oilers eventually got around to taking on him. Khabibulan who has been slow to showing his Stanley Cup winning form of late, has been cursed with a defence that occasionally forgets how to keep the opposition away from his end of the ice. The situation wasn't much different on Sunday as the Oilers stormed back after Jussi Markkanen gave up the three first period goals, by the end of the game the Oilers had 27 shots to the Hawks 19, but Khabibulan was the difference in this one, as the Hawks held on for the 3-1 victory.

Mark Bell scored two goals within minutes of each other late in the first and Duncan Keith picked up the final marker for Chicago. Fernando Pisani scored the only Oiler goal of the game.

The win was Chicago's sixth of the season, four and six in their last ten games. The Oilers stand still at 9 wins thus far, six and four in their last ten. The Hawks can savor their victory for four nights, they play next on the 18th in Calgary, for the Oilers its on to Colorado and a match up with the Avs who will still be smarting from their loss in Calgary on Saturday night.

The Oilers will want to refrain from letting the Avs pad the lead as the Hawks did on Sunday, letting Colorado get on a three goal roll could result in double digits by the time sixty minutes is done.