Oilers surprise Red Wings, even series

The Edmonton Oilers are using a passive trap to stay with Detroit.

Just when they seemed to lull the Red Wings to sleep, the Oilers picked the right times to be aggressive in Game 2.

Brad Winchester and Fernando Pisani scored less than a minute apart late in the second period to rally visiting Edmonton to a 4-2 victory over the top-seeded Red Wings on Sunday that tied the first-round playoff series at 1-1.

Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves for the Oilers, who also got goals from Chris Pronger and Jarret Stoll. The Oilers clogged the middle of the ice with a trap, negating Detroit’s talent.

“They did a pretty good job in the neutral zone,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

Trailing 2-1, the Oilers did some aggressive forechecking while Detroit seemed casual with the puck. That led to the tying and go-ahead goals that made it 3-2 with 1:14 left in the second period.

“We needed to differentiate when we backed up and when we put on pressure – and we did that,” Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said.

Sharks 3, Predators 0: At Nashville, Tenn., San Jose cleaned up its act after giving up four power-play goals in the playoff opener, and Jonathan Cheechoo had a goal and two assists as the Sharks beat the Predators to even the first-round series in the Western Conference.

Patrick Marleau also had a goal and assist, and Mike Smith got his second goal of the postseason. Vesa Toskala stopped 25 shots for his first playoff shutout in his second postseason game.

Lightning 4, Senators 3: At Ottawa, Martin St. Louis scored his second goal of the game 6:19 into the third, and Tampa Bay battled back twice to win, evening the Eastern Conference series at 1-1.

John Grahame made 22 saves for his first win in four career playoff games and Tampa Bay captain Brad Richards had three points, including his first goal of the series to give the Lightning a 2-1 in the second period.

Mighty Ducks 4, Flames 3: At Calgary, Alberta, Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 saves in his return to Anaheim’s lineup, helping the Mighty Ducks pull even with the Flames in Game 2 of the Western Conference series.

Chris Kunitz, Scott Niedermayer, Joffrey Lupul and Samuel Pahlsson scored for Anaheim, while Jarome Iginla, Kristian Huselius and Dion Phaneuf countered for Calgary. Miikka Kiprusoff made 16 saves for the Flames.