Good thing it was three games instead of four.
The Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid back in the lineup after his suspension, needed all hands on deck Monday night to survive a see-saw battle with the 12th place Seattle Kraken.
After barely beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Saturday, the Oilers barely beat the Kraken 4-2 two days later. They needed a huge night from goalie Calvin Pickard, a goal from McDavid, a perfect night from the penalty kill and a 200-foot empty netter from Mattias Ekholm to stave off disaster.
“We played just well enough (to win),” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was singing a similar tune after Edmonton edged the Sabres.
With Stuart Skinner unavailable after the birth of their second child, the Oilers called Pickard into action and never missed a beat. They needed a big night from him and got a 26-save, first-star performance.
“(Seattle) pushed, especially late in the game,” said Knoblauch. “They had their opportunities and didn’t let up. Picks made some huge saves at the end to keep us in it — especially for us to take the lead in the second period. He made a couple big saves and we go down there and score shortly after that.”
The Oilers fell behind 1-0 early in the first period, then tied it on the first goal from Mattias Janmark in nearly three months. Then they fell behind 2-1 and went ahead on goals from McDavid and Corey Perry in the second period.
After that, it was all about hanging on. But, no matter how it looks, they’re 22-6-1 in the last 29 games and through four games through their six-game homestand, the Oilers are 3-1 and moved back ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights into first place in the Pacific Division.
“Special teams and goaltending,” said Knoblauch. “Our goaltending has been really solid through that stretch, both of them have been really good for us. You get goaltending and special teams and that’s a big part of it.
“And then you Connor and Leon (Draisaitl) putting up the numbers that they have consistently. When you have those three things going you’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”
Edmonton put its penalty-killing units under pressure in this one. They had to kill four penalties, including a two-man disadvantage for 1:09 late in the first period. They held up well, killing all of them.
“Those guys take a lot of pride in it,” said Knoblauch. “A couple games ago, we gave up two goals in the first period and guys were a little upset and wanted to fix it. And I think Mark (Stuart) does a heck of a good job correcting guys, telling them what they need to do, and not overcomplicating it.”
Maybe the fallout from referees Wes McCauley and Chris Lee refusing to call 15 seconds worth of interference by Conor Garland in Vancouver nine days ago had an impact and maybe it didn’t. McDavid drew a penalty on his first shift of the game Monday, 41 seconds after the opening face-off, but it was Edmonton’s only power play of the night.
The Oilers signed University of Alberta Golden Bear goalie Tyler Palmer to an amateur tryout so he could serve as their backup. The last time something like this happened, January 2023, the Oilers had a 7-3 win over Chicago comfortably in hand so they gave Bears goalie Matt Berlin the thrill of a lifetime and put him in the game for the final 2:26.
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