EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Ethan Moreau's game is simple. If he is moving in fine form, the rest just falls into place.
His power-play goal with 1:23 left in the third period led the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
Moreau sent a slap shot from the right circle over the blocker of Jose Theodore for the winning goal on a power play.
"I'm skating well, and any time I skate well I'm going to get a lot of chances," said Moreau, who has points in five straight games.
Fernando Pisani netted his second goal of the game - capping a three-point night - by scoring into an empty net. Pisani's first came early in the third and tied it at 3. Marc-Andre Bergeron and Raffi Torres also scored for Edmonton, which plays eight of its next 11 at home.
Moreau got the stretch off to a good start.
"Now he's got the confidence," said coach Craig MacTavish, who described Moreau's windup as "John Daly-esque."
Chris Higgins had a goal and assist, and Garth Murray and Michael Ryder also scored for Montreal. It was the Canadiens' first game of the season against a Northwest Division opponent.
The Canadiens, who killed off a double high-sticking penalty to defenseman Mathieu Dandenault in the third period, were without injured stars right-winger Alex Kovalev, captain Saku Koivu and center Radek Bonk.
"We need some better efforts from certain individuals," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "Our penalty killers were tired guys at the end."
Murray opened the scoring, sliding the puck through the legs of Edmonton goaltender Ty Conklin for his first goal of the season.
The Oilers then took a pair of high-sticking penalties in a span of 6 seconds to set up Ryder's power-play goal. Canadiens center Mike Ribeiro had an assist - his sixth in five games.
"When we get the lead, we have to close the game better," Ribeiro said. "It's something we have to learn."
Conklin made 16 stops for his first win since Oct. 5.
"This was a game we had to win," MacTavish said.
Theodore finished with 23 saves for his seventh loss. He slumped to the ice in the second period and stayed down for several minutes after taking a shot on the knee.
Notes: Canadiens D Mathieu Dandenault took four penalties. ... The Oilers will play all 10 regular-season games against Eastern Conference by Jan. 16. ... Canadiens owner George Gillett was in attendance.
