EDMONTON -- As much as the Edmonton Oilers count on Ryan Smyth to score, they also rely on him to be a leader, and as reporters discovered Sunday, the target of their humorous barbs.

Ethan Moreau was asked how Smyth has become such a clutch scorer and it was open season.

"I don't know," Moreau shrugged. "It's a mystery. We try to figure out how he scores so much all the time. He has got a horrible shot, terrible stick. I don't know."

But seriously folks ?

"He knows how to play the game," Moreau said. "He's a hockey player. You watch him in practice and sometimes he winds up and takes a slap shot and my 5-year-old can shoot better. Sorry Smitty."

Schedule / Links:   Gm. 1: CAR 5, EDM 4 | Photos Gm. 2: CAR 5, EDM 0 | Photos Gm. 3: EDM 2, CAR 1 | Photos Gm. 4: June 12, 8:00 p.m. ET at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) Gm. 5: June 14, 8:00 p.m. ET at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS) *Gm. 6: June 17, 8:00 p.m. ET at Edmonton (NBC, CBC, RDS) *Gm. 7: June 19, 8:00 p.m. ET at Carolina (NBC, CBC, RDS)   *if necessary

"He (Moreau) said it about as good as you can," Raffi Torres said, warming to the occasion. "It's just a dirty, dirty goal (Saturday) night to get the winner, but that's the way it is. I am a young guy coming in here and I look at him in practice deflecting shots, just working on every part of his game. It rubs off on me, that's for sure, when I am out there working on things for myself."

But ?

"But, like 'Chop' (Moreau) said, he's not the best skater out there. He's not the best shot, but he knows how to get it done and that's why he's pretty much the heart and soul of our team, that's for sure."

"There are times when you can see Gary Bettman's name on the puck when he shots it," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish lobbed into the mix, noting how slow Smyth's shot can be.

"You look at his shot, he has got a muffin, but it's effective," defenseman Chris Pronger laughed. "Off-speed pitch. We have seen him score a number of goals this year. I don't know how they go in, but they go in. It's accurate and you know he drives the net hard. He does all the little things that are necessary. He's great in the corners, great along the boards, and the little things that a lot of times get overlooked that he's kind of honed and he's extremely good at. They don't get a lot of notice, but they certainly do in our locker room."

Later in the day, Smyth got his chance to fire back.

Oh geez, I am speechless," he said. "Yeah, I am not the flashiest player, that's for sure. Everybody knows my style."

And his thick skin.

"All the time, yeah," Smyth said of the teasing. "It's non-stop. It's just not those guys. I think it's pretty much everybody in that locker room. I think during the year we had that skills competition, who was I up against? Marty Reasoner. He beat me by a couple MPs, miles per hour."