EDMONTON, Alberta, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Buoyed by the unexpected return of Ryan Smyth, the Edmonton Oilers got a pair of goals from an unexpected source Wednesday night as Sean Brown recorded his first career two-goal game and fellow defenseman Jason Smith added a goal and an assist to enable the Oilers to end an eight-game winless streak against the New York Rangers with a 4-1 victory.
Smyth was back in the lineup three weeks ahead of schedule, six weeks after breaking his right ankle. He did not figure in the scoring, but the Edmonton defense more than picked up the slack by contributing three goals and two assists.
Brown scored a power-play goal late in the first period, then put the Oilers ahead for good with 4:50 to go in the second.
Smith added an insurance tally 12:14 into the third period and set up Anson Carter's goal with 68 seconds left as Edmonton defeated the Rangers for the first time since Nov. 21, 1996.
Hours after placing star center Eric Lindros on injured reserve with another concussion, New York fell to 2-2 on a six-game road trip.
