NHL: Oilers start quickly, hold off Sharks

Marc-Andre Bergeron and Jarret Stoll each had a power-play goal and an assist in the first period Wednesday night, and the Edmonton Oilers mostly kept the Sharks’ vaunted power play off the ice in a 3-2 victory over San Jose in San Jose, Calif.

Mathieu Roy added his first career goal and Edmonton took a 3-0 lead in the first 11 1/2 minutes. Dwayne Roloson made 32 saves for the Oilers, who held on in their first trip to the Shark Tank since last season’s Western Conference semifinals, won in six games by Edmonton after San Jose took a two-game lead into overtime of Game 3.

Blues 3, Devils 2: At East Rutherford, N.J., Dallas Drake scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period, Manny Legace made 24 saves and St. Louis beat New Jersey for its second victory in as many nights on the road. On Tuesday, the Blues captured a 4-3 shootout victory in Columbus.

Panthers 5, Penguins 2: At Sunrise, Fla., Olli Jokinen scored three goals to help Florida to victory. He has eight goals in six games against Pittsburgh during the last two seasons.

Jozef Stumpel and Martin Gelinas each had a goal and two assists for Florida, which improved to 4-0-1 in its last five at home.

Sabres 2, Blackhawks 1: At Chicago, Ryan Miller made 34 saves and Jochen Hecht and Maxim Afinogenov scored as Buffalo defeated slumping Chicago.

Miller wasn’t heavily tested by sputtering Chicago, which lost its fourth straight. He lost a bid for his second shutout of the season when Denis Arkhipov scored a short-handed goal with 49.1 seconds left in the game.

The Sabres improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 with their second straight win. They have 65 points, tied with Anaheim for the league lead.

Around the league

Philadelphia Flyers captain Peter Forsberg is expected back in the lineup today against the Montreal Canadiens.

Forsberg, who missed four games with a groin injury, skated in practice and said he’s ready to go.

“The Toronto Maple Leafs claimed veteran center Travis Green, a former Spokane Chiefs player, off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.

“St. Louis Blues goalie Curtis Sanford was assigned to Peoria, Ill., of the AHL for a conditioning stint while recovering from a groin injury.

“Buffalo center Chris Drury left the Sabres’ game against the Blackhawks when he was struck in the leg by a shot from teammate Jaroslav Spacek at 7:54 of the first period.