EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers arent used to this type of start to a season.Benoit Pouliot scored twice, Cam Talbot made 34 saves and the Oilers stretched their winning streak to four games with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.I think this start is huge for us, Pouliot said after his team improved to 6-1-0. The last couple of years, we havent had good starts and it is tough to climb back. Now we are having a good start, and we just have to keep it going.Patrick Maroon and Milan Lucic also scored for the Oilers, off to their best start since opening 8-1-0 during the 1985-86 season. They have won four of five at Rogers Place, their new downtown arena.Its a big win for us, said captain Connor McDavid, who had two assists to give him 11 points this season.Tonight was kind of a benchmark for us. ... Tonight was a big test. These guys are a giant in the NHL and we were able to play well and get a win, which is huge for our team.Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals (3-2-1), who have lost two straight in regulation -- something that did not happen at all last season.We just need a little more push from the whole group, coach Barry Trotz said. Were going to have to get a little more greasy, get some of those greasy goals.Those key moments when were still in the game, we have to recognize those moments and were not recognizing those moments right now. We didnt play well enough to win.The chances were fairly even in a scoreless first period, with the Capitals getting 11 shots on Talbot, and Edmonton directing 10 shots at Washington starter Braden Holtby.Edmonton was badly outplayed to start the second period, but ended up taking the games first lead just more than seven minutes in as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins intercepted a pass, danced around defender Dmitry Orlov and put a long shot on net that Pouliot redirected past Holtby.The Oilers made it 2-0 with 2:52 remaining in the second, as Pouliot scored his third of the season by banking in a shot off Holtby from behind the Washington net.Things got a bit heated late in the period when Talbot had enough of T.J. Oshie hitting him with his stick in front on a power-play scramble and ended up unleashing a couple punches of his own that led to a roughing minor.More or less cross-checking my knee while I was down, Talbot said. I didnt think that was right so I more or less gave him a shot back and it was even after that.Washington cut into the lead 9 seconds into the third as Ovechkin slid a puck under Talbot, scoring in his fourth consecutive game.Edmonton shook off that goal quickly, though, as McDavid set up Jesse Puljujarvi for a glorious opportunity that Maroon finished off a rebound.The Oilers got some insurance midway through the third when Lucic tipped Andrej Sekeras power-play point shot into the net.Game notes It was the first of two meetings this season between the Capitals and Oilers. The next time they play is Feb. 24 in Washington. ... Edmonton has had the NHLs first star of the week for the first two weeks of the season, as Talbot followed McDavid in winning the award on Monday.UP NEXTCapitals: Washington is at Vancouver on Saturday night, then will close its Western Canada swing with games in Calgary on Sunday night and Winnipeg on Tuesday night.Oilers: Edmonton is at Vancouver on Friday night. Miles Bridges Hornets Jersey . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Cody-Zeller-Hornets-Jersey/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Glen Rice Jersey . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. TORONTO -- Gael Monfils of France defeated Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-3, 6-3 and fifth seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic beat Croatias Borna Coric 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday.Despite dropping his first set, Berdych said that he wasnt concerned because it was an early break.I mean it was by my mistakes and then it was just basically trying to get used to the conditions because they were quite different, the world No. 8 said.I was just really trying to be patient with myself. Trying also to look for the opportunities. And thats what paid off.Tournament No. 2 seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland faced Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the late Tuesday match.Taiwans Yen-Hsun Lu admits hes a bit nervous about facing hometown star Milos Raonic on Wednesday, but hes banking on the fourth-seeded Canadian having a few butterflies too.Lu, who advanced to the second round on Tuesday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alexander Zverev of Germany, will have few backers among the expected capacity crowd at the 12,500-seat Aviva Centre.All the spectators against you is very tough, Lu said. But, I mean, this is what he should get because he comes from the country and hes one of the best players right now.Later Tuesday, Canadas Vasek Pospisil defeated Jeremy Chardy in first-round action after the Frenchman retired with a right foot injury.Chardy started to favor his foot after Pospisil went up 30-0 in the first game of the second set. Chardy called for the trainer and waited several minutes before deciding that he couldnt go on.Pospisil won the first set 7-6 (3). The Vancouver product will face Monfils in the second round.Raonic, who grew up in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill, will be playing his first match since the Wimbledon mens final where he lost to Andy Murray.Lu says that in order to beat the Canadian, he will have to have a strong service game, but hes also hoping to exploit any nerves that Raonic may have as he returns home.If I can try to make more balls into the court to play, I have a little bit better chance, he said. I have to focus on my service game to stay with him and to maybe give him a little bitt of pressure and waiting for him maybe a little bit getting nervous from the tensions and give me a chance.ddddddddddddRaonic, who had a bye in the first round of the Rogers Cup, is 2-0 against the 32-year-old Lu, with his last victory coming in 2014 in Monte Carlo. Lu said hes noticed a lot of improvement in Raonics game recently.He getting more stable from the baseline, Lu said. He plays all different kind of game. He can come in, hes making (things) difficult.In mens doubles action, Vancouvers Philip Bester and Adil Shamasdin of Toronto got past world No. 1 singles player Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 7-5, 4-6, 10-2.Tied at 30-30 in the second set, Bester double-faulted to give the Serbs break point before double faulting again to give Djokovic and Zimonjic the set.I wanted to keep things interesting for the crowd, Bester joked. Thats just sport, thats tennis, that kind of stuff happens to me, it happens to everybody and as soon as we went to the change-over, the most important thing for me personally was to have a short memory about it and also to communicate with Adil that I was ready to move on to the tiebreaker.Bester and Shamasdin will next play South Africas Raven Klaasen and American Rajeev Ram.Lu, ranked 70th in the world, improved to 3-3 on the ATP World Tour circuit this season with his victory over Zverev. He made headlines at Wimbledon in 2010 when he beat American Andy Roddick in an epic five-set thriller.The Taiwanese player was ousted in the first round of the Rogers Cup last year by Pospisil.After right elbow surgery delayed the start of his season, hes gone on to lose to Djokovic in the first round of Roland Garros and Murray in the second round of Wimbledon.Lu says hell have to stop Raonics weapon -- his serve -- if hes going to be successful on center court against the world No. 7.Hes one of the best players right now, Lu said. For me, I really need to stay very strong in my serve and hope I can always catch him and give him some pressure. ' ' '
