NEWARK, N.J. -- With the New Jersey Devils fighting for a playoff spot, Jon Merrill picked the perfect time to score his first NHL goal. The rookie defenceman connected 2:34 into overtime, and the Devils snapped a two-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. "You always dream of this kind of stuff when youre a little kid," the 22-year-old Merrill said. "After 20 games went by and I hadnt scored, I think those dreams went away a little bit. I knew it would come when it came. Tonight was a good opportunity." The goal came in Merrills 31st NHL game and was set up by Adam Henrique winning a battle in the corner and Michael Ryder getting the puck and finding Merrill all alone above the left circle for an uncontested shot against Ilya Bryzgalov. "I saw that four guys kind of collapsed on Ryds," Merrill said. "I was calling for it and he made a great play. I was walking in all alone and fortunately it went in." The win was the second in six games for New Jersey (2-2-2), and it ended a slide that saw the Devils lose the last two games in overtime after giving up the lead late in the third period. "It was awesome for him to get his first goal in overtime," said Henrique, who might have gotten away with a holding-the-stick penalty just before the goal. "Its such an important win for the team. Thats one hes going to remember for the rest of his career." Cory Schneider made 19 saves and Andrei Loktionov scored in regulation for the Devils, who play Saturday night at Washington in their final game before the Olympic break. Taylor Hall had the goal for the Oilers, who lost for only the second time in seven games (5-1-1). Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves for Edmonton, which wont play again until Feb. 27. "We found different ways to get points in this stretch," defenceman Justin Schultz said. "We got some solid goaltending. Weve improved our game against these teams that are battling for playoff spots." The Devils hit three posts in the game, with Ryder clanging a shot off the crossbar with 9:20 to play. Both teams went for the win in the final minutes of regulation. Henrique had two chances in close with just more than 4 minutes to go, and defenceman Andrew Ference and Matt Hendricks had chances for Edmonton a minute later. Schneider stopped a chance in close by Jordan Eberle early in overtime. With the Devils struggling to score, coach Pete DeBoer shook up his lines for the game and that led to the teams first goal. Loktionov, who was put at centre on Jaromir Jagrs line, opened the scoring at 11:01 with his first goal since Dec. 4. Jagr and defenceman Bryce Salvador set up the goal. Jagr carried the puck into the Oilers zone and found Salvador on the other side of the ice. He skated toward Bryzgalov and sent a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Loktionov for a shot into an open net. Jagrs assist was the 1,039th of his career, putting him one behind Marcel Dionne for ninth in NHL history. The public address announcer had not finished giving out the assists when Edmonton tied the game 29 seconds later. Hall skated the puck into the Devils end and worked a perfect give-and-go with Nail Yakupov for his 20th goal of the season. Schneider never had a chance to stop the shot into an open net. New Jersey had plenty of opportunities to take the lead in the second period. Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky hit the post on a power-play shot and Ryane Clowe hit a post on a breakaway after an Oilers turnover. Mark Faynes shot from the point was past Bryzgalov and heading into the net when Ference swept it away from the crease. NOTES: Schultz played in his 100th NHL game. ... Martin Brodeur has been the Devils backup goalie the past five games. He has not played since giving up six goals in two periods during the outdoor game against the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium. ... Devils D Anton Volchenkov missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Russian Olympian Anton Belov did not play on the road trip. Gary Carter Jersey . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. New York Mets Jerseys .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/dar...ry-mets-jersey/. LOUIS -- Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks won the matchup of unbeaten teams. Dwight Gooden Jersey . The win gives Canada its fifth title at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. "Weve got to keep pushing," said Westlake, who led Canada with five goals in the tournament. "The second you let off the pedal, everyone catches up. Tug McGraw Jersey . Bobrovsky posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.58 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Blue Jackets (35-26-6) gain five of a possible six points last week. He capped the week by making 32 saves and stopping 2-of-4 shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.After an emotionally charged night at BC Place on Saturday when Vancouver Whitecaps beat Colorado Rapids to secure a place in the MLS Playoffs, Carl Robinsons men now face another must-win encounter as they open the postseason in Dallas on Wednesday night in the Knockout Round. It is the Whitecaps second appearance in the playoffs since joining Major League Soccer in 2011. Their last trip to the postseason lasted just 90 minutes when they were beaten by an LA Galaxy side that went on to win the MLS Cup. This time around, the Whitecaps are in much better shape heading into the playoffs after finishing the season well. The Form: The Whitecaps ended the season as one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer, unbeaten in five games with four wins and a tie. During that time, they have beaten three teams above them in the Western Conference and have been very good defensively. In fact, the Whitecaps enter the playoffs having had four clean sheets in a row. It is 393 minutes since the Caps last conceded a goal but Kendall Waston and company will be faced with a very difficult challenge against a potent Dallas attack. Carl Robinsons squad has a fantastic team spirit and they will go into the match in a confident mood, having shown they have the ability to get big results away from home when they beat Seattle 1-0 three weeks ago. They finished the season with what Robinson described as five Cup finals so have now become used to dealing with the pressure of having no margin for error. Dallas fell to a surprise 2-0 defeat to Portland on the final day of the regular season. Had they won that game, Oscar Parejas men would have avoided having to play in the Knockout Round. Before that loss, they set a new club record of eight home wins in a row. They won 12 of their 17 home matches during the regular season. The Texas club had some good and bad spells during the year - they were winless in eight matches in late April and throughout May, but also had a 10-match unbeaten run in late spring and early summer during which time they won six of seven matches. The Big Question: Can the Whitecaps win the midfield battle? When the Whitecaps won in Seattle, Matias Laba and Russell Teibert were magnificent in midfield. They helped ensure there was no space for Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins to take advantage of. They were first to every ball, breaking up play and frustrating the Sounders. If Robinson sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation he has utilized the last few weeks, Laba and Teiberts roles will be key to Vancouvers chances. Kendall Waston and Andy OBrien have struck up an excellent partnership in central defence, but having Laba and Teibert in front of them certainly helps. Further forward, Pedro Morales will need to be influential if the Caps are to dominate the midfield. On Saturday, he was excellent against Colorado, dropping deep to get involved, and getting the Caps going forward with his excellent range of passing. There have been times away from home this season when Morales has struggled. On Wednesday in Dallas, he needs to be at his best. The Opposition: FC Dallas finishedd fourth in the Western Conference, four points ahead of the Whitecaps to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2011.ddddddddddddTheir haul of 54 points set a new club record for points in a season. Panama international Blas Perez led the way with 11 goals during the regular season and has been a constant threat to the Whitecaps in previous matches over the last couple of years. He always seems to find a way to grab a goal and has three against Vancouver this season, including two in the win against the Caps in Frisco in September. Dallas have a very good home record and much of that comes down to the attacking pieces they have within their squad. Along with Perez, they also get attacking production from the likes of Fabian Castillo, Mauro Diaz, Andres Escobar and David Texeira. When they are on form, they are very difficult to stop. Dallas finished the season with 55 goals to tie the club record for most goals scored in a season. The Lineup: The Whitecaps will have to make at least one change with right back Steven Beitashour ruled out with a hamstring injury that forced him to leave the win over Colorado during the first half. There are two options for Robinson. He could do what he did on Saturday and bring in teenager Sam Adekugbe at left back, but that also means switching Jordan Harvey across to the right back position. Robinson describes Adekugbe as something special, and theres no doubt he has all the tools needed to become a top class fullback. He showed that in the game on Saturday, having come on in a high pressure situation. He also gives the Caps an added dimension going forward. The other option is to bring in Ethen Sampson who played in Dallas last month, Sampson hasnt seen many minutes this season, but on the two occasions he started for the Caps, he certainly didnt let himself down. He is also the kind of player who will relish the expected physical nature of the game ahead. Losing Beitashour is a blow for Vancouver as he has been extremely reliable all season long, but Robinson has two solid replacements available. The Odds: The three matches between the teams this season have been split. The Whitecaps beat Dallas 2-0 at BC Place earlier this month, and were by far the better side in July despite only tying the game 2-2. Dallas won 2-1 last month in the only previous meeting in Texas this season. Dallas will go into the match as favourites due to their excellent home record and Vancouvers five straight losses in their previous visits to Frisco, but when the Whitecaps were in Dallas last month, they played well and were unfortunate to lose. It could be a long night. Im expecting a hard-fought, close encounter that has the potential to go all the way to extra time and penalties. These two teams dont like each other, so there is a chance of fireworks. Seattle awaits the winner in a two-leg conference semifinal. Where to Watch: The match will be broadcast live on TSN1. Join me with Jason deVos, Kristian Jack and Perry Solkowski for the pre-match show which gets underway from Toyota Stadium at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. 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