If the Edmonton Oilers get into the playoffs, it will be via the hard route.

Sam Gagner scored twice and the Oilers edged closer to Colorado in the Western Conference postseason race with a 7-5 victory against the Avalanche yesterday at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

Dustin Penner, Fernando Pisani, Kyle Brodziak, Marty Reasoner and Marc Pouliot also scored for the Oilers.

Tyler Arnason, Ruslan Salei, Wojtek Wolski, Milan Hejduk and John-Michael Liles responded for the Avalanche.

It was the 11th win in the past 14 outings for the Oilers, who moved three points back of Colorado for the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference.

"I'm down to my last nerve," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "It wasn't easy. It should have been a lot easier than it was. We had a great start and then we lacked a little composure in those key situations. Perhaps the youthfulness comes into play. The good thing is that we are getting the experience and still winning the games."

Colorado (39-31-6) went winless on its three-game road trip and has lost four in a row.

The Oilers got their crowd energized early, scoring on their first shot 50 seconds into the game. Ales Hemsky fed a pass through Avalanche defender Jeff Finger to Penner who beat Jose Theodore for his 21st of the season.

Edmonton took a two-goal lead midway through the opening frame as Hemsky made a behind-the-back pass to Gagner, who rifled the puck past Theodore.

Pisani made it 3-0 late in the first and Peter Budaj came in to replace Theodore.

The Avalanche cut into the lead five minutes into the second as Arnason sent a backhanded chip shot in off Dwayne Roloson's shoulder.

Edmonton restored its three-goal advantage when Brodziak scored on a breakaway, tucking the puck under Budaj's arm.

Colorado caught a break early in the third as Salei's long dump-in from the point caromed off the knee of Oilers defender Denis Grebeshkov and through Roloson's legs to make it 4-2.

Joe Sakic set up a goal by Wolski and then Hejduk knotted the score 35 seconds later.

"We were able to battle through the adversity and that's a big building block for the team," Roloson said.

• Rich Peverley and Alexander Radulov scored in the shootout, and the Nashville Predators stopped their six-game home skid with a 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. ... Lubomir Visnovsky scored the go-ahead goal with 2:06 left after Michal Handzus tied it 55 seconds earlier, and the visiting Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2. ... Saku Koivu scored in the shootout and the host Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2, completing a sweep of the season series. ... Teemu Selanne scored twice to lift the visiting Anaheim Ducks to a 2-1 victory against the Phoenix Coyotes.A rare 60

Washington's Alex Ovechkin scored his 60th goal Friday, the first to do so in better than a decade.