MONTREAL (Ticker) -- His future uncertain, Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien was given a glimpse of his not-so-distant past by Fernando Pisani, Peter Sarno and the Edmonton Oilers.
Pisani had a goal and an assist and Sarno scored in his NHL debut to lead the Oilers to their first road win of the season, 4-2 over the struggling Canadiens.
Montreal scored just two goals in its previous five games and has lost five of six, fueling speculation that Julien's job is in jeopardy. Losing to a team that totaled one goal in dropping its first three road contests won't enhance his job security.
"We didn't even get our noses dirty out there tonight," Julien said. "What more can I do as a coach? There's no secrets out there. Our performance stunk. I've got to think about making lineup changes."
The Canadiens missed the playoffs last season after hiring Julien in January, then hired Bob Gainey as general manager in June. That prompted some to suggest Gainey might want to hire his own coach.
Pisani, who played for Julien part of last season with Hamilton of the American Hockey League, scored late in the first period to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead. Just 22 seconds after Pisani set up defenseman Cory Cross' tally, Sarno made it 4-0.
Julien also coached Sarno at Hamilton during the 2001-02 season.
"I have to worry about my own team, I can't worry about the opposition. But I coached some of the Oilers' players in Hamilton - Pisani, Sarno two years ago and (Tony) Salmelainen," Julien said. "If it wasn't for the fact that they beat us, I'd be happy. I'd be extremely happy to see them beat other teams."
Raffi Torres had the other goal for the Oilers, who extended their unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1) in the opener of a six-game road trip.
"No better way to start a long road trip than with a win right away," Edmonton left wing Ryan Smyth said. "We were aggressive tonight, we had a chip on our shoulders."
Defenseman Sheldon Souray scored his career-high fourth and fifth goals for Montreal, which has lost four in a row at home.
"We sat around all night, doing nothing," Souray said. "We have to do something and get away from the bad little things we're doing."
The Canadiens have not won a game this season in which they've given up the first goal, and Edmonton struck first at 7:33 of the opening period.
With Montreal's Darren Langdon in the penalty box for slashing, Torres got the rebound of a deflection by Marty Reasoner and whipped it past goaltender Mathieu Garon for his fourth goal of the season and second in as many games. It also was the Oilers' first power-play tally on the road in 17 chances this season.
"We can't continue like this at the start of a game," Montreal center Yanic Perreault said. "We can't afford to fall behind because every time we do, it's been hurting us."
Pisani doubled the lead on a similar play with 3:23 to go in the period. Souray tried to clear a rebound from the front of the net but put the puck on the stick of Pisani, who scored from almost the same spot as Torres.
In the second period, Cross got a feed from Pisani in the left faceoff circle and snapped a shot inside the far goalpost for his second goal. Moments later, Sarno put a rebound into a half-empty net.
"This is one of my most exciting moments," said Sarno, a 1997 sixth-round pick who spent last season in Finland. "I've waited for this my whole life. I finally made it to the NHL. ... It's unbelievable I got a goal in my first game. I was in the right place at the right time."
Just 37 seconds after Sarno's goal, Souray ended Montreal's latest scoring drought at 61 minutes, 38 seconds. The big defenseman ripped a low one-timer from the left point past screen goalie Tommy Salo.
The Canadiens had a two-man advantage at 6:45 of the third period when Souray rifled another one-timer past Salo, who was screened by Chad Kilger.
"I'm scoring goals because I have my confidence back," said Souray, who missed all of last season due to a left wrist injury. "Rather than scoring goals, I'd like to get some more points in the standings for the Canadiens."
