Oilers end pre-season skid with 5-4 win over Kraken

When the cardinal to a triumph is enactment ethic, it is not astonishing to spot Mattias Ekholm emergence to the occasion.

Ekholm had a extremity and 2 assists arsenic the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game skid with a 5-4 triumph implicit the Seattle Kraken connected Saturday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Noah Philp, Vasily Podkolzin and Raphael Lavoie besides scored for the Oilers, who improved to 2-3 successful NHL pre-season play.

“They are a hard-working team, nary substance who they person successful the lineup, truthful we expected that,” said Oilers forward Derek Ryan, who picked up a mates of assists.

“There were points successful the crippled wherever we were benignant of matching that strength and enactment ethic and things were going good for us. We fto the enactment ethic dip a small spot and past the crippled gets distant from us. It is simply a bully connection to the guys who were playing and the full radical that it starts with work.”

Jacob Melanson, Eduard Sale, John Hayden and Ben Meyers responded for the Kraken, who fell to 1-3 successful accumulation action.

“I thought we were getting up the crystal well, playing fast, playing north,” said Meyers. “I deliberation we astir apt conscionable gave up a small spot excessively overmuch to triumph that game, but I thought offensively we played beauteous good and we had our chance.”

The Oilers started the scoring conscionable implicit 3 minutes into the opening play arsenic some defenders tried to screen Connor McDavid connected a two-on-one, but helium made a bully backhand walk backmost to Nugent-Hopkins, who bushed Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer upstairs blocker side.

Seattle tied the crippled 9 minutes into the archetypal after Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard made a mates of saves successful choky earlier Melanson was capable to poke it successful from the crease.

Pickard near the crippled soon afterwards aft teammate Noah Philp got angled into his ain netminder, hitting him successful the head. Pickard did not instrumentality to the game.

Olivier Rodrigue replaced Pickard successful the Edmonton nett and surrendered a power-play extremity with six minutes to play successful the archetypal arsenic Ryan Winterton lifted a deft walk implicit a defender crossed to Sale for the goal.

Edmonton knotted the crippled with 2:43 remaining successful the archetypal framework arsenic Ekholm spotted Philp driving the nett and completed a agelong saucer walk done a mates Kraken players to let him to wrist it home.

Seattle made it 3-2 5:32 into the 2nd play aft Rodrigue attempted to nonstop a puck distant from the net, lone to person it deed Hayden and carom into his net.

Trending Now

With 2 minutes near successful the mediate period, the Kraken added to their pb arsenic Meyers elected to sprout connected a two-on-one opportunity, beating the Oilers’ goalie upstairs.

Edmonton got that extremity backmost conscionable 26 seconds aboriginal arsenic Derek Ryan threaded the needle to a trailing Ekholm and helium bushed Grubauer to marque it 4-3.

The Oilers tied the crippled six minutes into the 3rd connected a short-handed tally arsenic Ryan made a large play to gully the defenders his mode earlier sending it implicit to Podkolzin for the casual tap-in.

Edmonton avoided overtime with 2:53 remaining successful the last framework arsenic Lavoie battled hard to retrieve the puck earlier swinging retired beforehand and sending a changeable done Grubauer’s legs.

Oilers head manager Kris Knoblauch has been impressed with Lavoie’s skills arsenic a sniper.

“He’s got bully hands and an adjacent amended shot,” helium said. “He showed large accomplishment connected that goal.”

NOTES

The Oilers still had 41 players successful campy — with 4 goalies, 13 defencemen and 24 forwards. … Seattle was down to 37 players astatine campy — 33 skaters and 4 goalies — aft cutting 8 players earlier Friday’s contention against Vancouver. … Edmonton had some of the players successful campy who are connected PTOs successful the lineup connected Saturday, guardant Mike Hoffman and defenceman Travis Dermott. … Grubauer made his archetypal quality since past Sunday’s 6-1 nonaccomplishment to Calgary, during which helium allowed 4 goals connected 19 shots.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Visit the Calgary Flames connected Monday.

Oilers: Host the Vancouver Canucks connected Monday.