EDMONTON, Alberta _ Hockey is a funny game, sometimes.
In Pittsburgh's first meeting with the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 2, the Penguins bombarded goaltender Mike Smith with a season-high 52 shots. Shot after shot. Chance after chance. And what did they have to show for it? Just one measly goal and one single point in an overtime loss.
So in the second meeting of the season Friday, maybe it was puck luck evening itself out. Or perhaps it was an example that quality is better than quantity. Or, more simply, it might have just been a reminder hockey is easier when the opposing goalie isn't standing on his head.
Whatever it was, it ended up like this: Penguins 5, Oilers 2.
The Penguins scored two goals on their first four shots and three times on their first 13 shots at Rogers Place. Chad Ruhwedel, Joseph Blandisi and Jared McCann each found the net early. Kris Letang added a third-period, power-play goal to help ice it and Brandon Tanev tacked on the empty-netter.
The Penguins now have won seven of eight games in December to improve to 21-10-4.
The early offense was more than enough for goalie Tristan Jarry. Making his fifth consecutive start and enjoying a homecoming of sorts in the city where he played junior hockey, Jarry stopped 26 of 28 to continue his hot streak.
Chances were hard to come by early for the Penguins. Through the first six-plus minutes of the game, the Penguins registered just two shots on goal. But, on the third one, Ruhwedel scored. He fired the puck from the point, as McCann provided the screen in front. By the time Smith found the puck, it was trickling past him.
Minutes later, Blandisi was in the right place at the right time to extend the Penguins' lead to 2-0.
After the Penguins snuffed out one of the league's most potent power-play units, Blandisi jumped out of the penalty box and collected a perfect pass from Zach Aston-Reese to spring him on a breakaway. Blandisi deked and eventually flicked the puck into the net on the backhand.
Throughout this season, as the Penguins have dealt with injury after injury to key players, they've found ways to win when role players step up. Those first two goals and goal-scorers provided the latest example.
Consider Ruhwedel didn't earn his first playing time until Nov. 21, when injuries began to thin the Penguins corps of defensemen. Blandisi, meanwhile, has been yo-yoed between the AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Penguins. This is his fifth stint in the NHL already this season.
In the second period, the Oilers twice cut the Penguins' lead to one goal. With 13:19 left in the second, Zack Kassian expertly redirected defenseman Darnell Nurse's shot from the point past Jarry.
McCann rebuilt the Penguins lead back to two goals when he beat Smith on the team's second breakaway of the game. But late in the period, Evgeni Malkin zipped a cross-ice pass on a power play. The turnover led to an Oilers odd-man rush that former Penguins forward Riley Sheahan buried.
The Penguins' power-play unit, which has struggled this season, made up for the miscue in the opening minute of the third. Malkin faked a shot to create a lane and then scooted the puck across to Letang. The defenseman ripped the one-timer past Smith to extend the lead to 4-2.
The Penguins now are 2-0 after the first two legs of the three-game Western Canada swing. The trip wraps up Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Penguins will then have off for Christmas break before resuming play Dec. 27 in Nashville, Tenn.
