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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Stay-at-home defenseman Jeff Finley certainly
knows how to score the big goals.
|  | | St. Louis' Pierre Turgeon slides into Edmonton goalie Tommy Salo. |
Finley got the game-winner in Game 6 of the St. Louis Blues'
first-round playoff series against Phoenix last May and on Thursday
night he scored another rare goal at 19 seconds of overtime for a
3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Finley's first goal of the season matched his total from last
season, when he totaled one goal in 32 games for the Blues and New
York Rangers. He has nine goals in 375 career games.
"I don't score very often, but they're always fun -- especially
the game-winners," Finley said. "I just saw a chance to jump in
the play."
The new four-on-four overtime format gives players like Finley a
chance to be the hero because teams already are guaranteed one
point.
"You can go for it," Finley said. "You've got to go for it."
Blues coach Joel Quenneville said he loves the new format "so far."
Finley scored from the right side of the net, catching Oilers
goalie Tommy Salo off-guard, on a cross-ice pass from Pierre Turgeon. Pavol Demitra also assisted on the play.
"It was a bang-bang play," Salo said. "I was moving and I don't know if I touched it or not. It just happened so quick."
The Oilers got caught in a bit of a breakdown on the play.
"They choreographed it perfectly," Oilers coach Kevin Lowe
said. "Everybody was in-between on that play. I'm not going to point the finger at anybody, but there's four guys out there and they have to be responsible for their man."
The Oilers' philosophy in overtime was nothing like the Blues'.
"We wanted to play a little cautious," center Doug Weight
said. "Obviously, that didn't work out. We're going to take the
point."
Craig Conroy and Michal Handzus also scored for the Blues, who
have won the first three games of a four-game homestand. The Blues
are 5-0 against Canadian teams and 0-3 against U.S. teams.
The Oilers have played four overtime games and have two losses and two ties.
Salo, playing in goal for the second straight night, had a strong game with 34 saves. He had 22 stops Wednesday in a 2-1 loss at Dallas.
Weight and Janne Niinimaa gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead in the
first period.
Handzus had tied it at 1:31 of the second period when he knocked
in the rebound of his own shot over a prone Salo. Handzus had a
goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory at Edmonton on Oct. 9 and has
five goals already after totaling four in 66 games his rookie season.
"He's showing more offensive instincts than he demonstrated
last year," Quenneville said. "We like that progress because we know defensively we can count on him."
The Blues had a 16-9 advantage in shots in the first period, but
trailed 2-1. Weight scored on a two-on-one at 8:43 and Niinimaa got his
first of the season short-handed at 15:04 as the Blues' power play was outshot 3-1.
Conroy cut the St. Louis deficit to one with a backhander, his second overall and second in two games, at 16:55.
The Blues were without Derek King, picked up Wednesday from
Toronto. King arrived in St. Louis about three hours before game time because of immigration difficulties and watched the game from the press box.
During the first period a banner commemorating the Arena, the Blues' home for 27 seasons ending in 1994, was unveiled. The Arena was demolished earlier this year.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Edmonton Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
Blues acquire Derek King from Maple Leafs
RECAPS
Ottawa 4
Colorado 1
St. Louis 3
Edmonton 2
Anaheim 5
Chicago 5
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeff Finley scores the game-winner.
avi: 509 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Michal Handzus flips the puck over Tommy Salo for the goal.
avi: 576 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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