EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- Raffi Torres scored on a breakaway
nearly eight minutes into the third period and rookie Steve
Mason turned aside all 19 shots he faced as the Columbus Blue
Jackets skated to a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on
Thursday.
A former Oiler, Torres was sprung behind the Edmonton defense on
a beautiful cross-ice pass by Jared Boll and came in alone on
Roloson. Torres made a pretty deke before sending the puck into
the net with a backhand shot at 7:45.
Mason made the goal stand up, posting his league-leading eighth
shutout. Mason stopped seven shots in the first and third
periods and five in the second.
The Blue Jackets missed a golden chance to go up by two goals
when captain Rick Nash broke in on Roloson. This time, the
goaltender got the better of the Blue Jackets, stopping Nash's
shot with a pad save.
Roloson kept the Oilers in the game, making 31 saves.
Blue-liner Mike Commodore made a great defensive play in the
final four minutes, sliding to knock the puck from Ales Hemsky
as he attempted a centering feed.
The Blue Jackets nearly broke through four minutes into the
final period when Nash's shot hit the post behind Roloson and
the puck danced along the goal line only to roll wide.
A fast-paced first period didn't translate on the scoreboard, as
neither team was able to find the back of the net. Despite the
uptempo play, the Oilers and Blue Jackets combined for just 14
shots (seven aside) in the game's opening 20 minutes.
Both Mason and Commodore got a glove on a puck that hung in the
air near the open net with 2:08 left in the first period.
The shot count picked up in the second period, but neither team
was able to solve the other's goaltenders. Columbus controlled
the chances, outshooting Edmonton, 17-5.
The Blue Jackets' best chance came with just under five minutes
left when Torres, who was traded to Columbus last season for
Gilbert Brule, had his shot squeak past Roloson, only to see it
trickle wide of the post and behind the net.
Hemsky, Dustin Penner and Shawn Horcoff almost worked a
tic-tac-toe play in front of Mason, but couldn't make the play
materialize, midway through the period.