Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a bad start to edge the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Monday for their third win in a row.
“It was a good game,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “They pushed especially late into the game. They had their opportunities and didn’t let up. Picks (Calvin Pickard) made some huge saves at the end to keep us into it.”
Mattias Janmark, Connor McDavid and Corey Perry also scored for the Oilers (32-15-3) who have won 11 of their last 14 games and moved back into first place in the Pacific Division, one point up on the idle Vegas Golden Knights.
“I feel great,” said Perry. “I feel like I am seeing well and getting some bounces. It helps when your winning too.”
McDavid returned to the Oilers lineup after serving a three-game suspension for cross-checking Vancouver’s Conor Garland.
Eeli Tolvanen and Vince Dunn replied for the Kraken (22-26-3), who have lost two of their last three. The visitors led 2-1 after the first period.
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Calvin Pickard made 26 stops in net for the Oilers, while Joey Daccord recorded 27 saves in the loss for the Kraken.
TAKEAWAYS
Kraken: Seattle’s leading scorer Jared McCann was held scoreless after recording five points in his previous four games. McCann has gone stone cold in the scoring category as his last goal that wasn’t on an empty net came way back on Dec. 22 in Colorado, 15 consecutive games without scoring on an actual netminder.
Oilers: Edmonton tied the game 1-1 with 5:33 remaining in the opening frame as Connor Brown took a bad angle shot from the boards that caromed off of teammate Janmark in front and past Daccord. It was only Janmark’s second goal of the season — the other one being an empty-netter 39 games ago — and his first point since Dec. 22.
KEY MOMENT
The Oilers went up 3-2 midway through the second as Darnell Nurse made an impressive pass from his own goal line to the opposition blue line to send Perry in all alone and the 39-year-old veteran and one-time 50-goal scorer made no mistake in netting his ninth of the season.
KEY STAT
Edmonton came into the contest with a 10-2 record all-time against the Kraken, including seven straight victories in which they had outscored Seattle 51-31. No players have more career points against the Kraken than Oilers Leon Draisaitl (now with 26 in 13 games) and McDavid (19 in 12).
BABY BACKUP
Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner was scheduled to get the start but welcomed the birth of a son on Monday and was given time to be with his wife Chloe. As a result, the Oilers signed University of Alberta netminder Tyler Palmer to an amateur tryout to serve as Pickard’s backup for the game.
UP NEXT
Kraken: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Oilers: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
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