When the key to victory is work ethic, it’s no surprise to see Mattias Ekholm rise to the occasion.
Ekholm had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Noah Philip, Vasily Podkolzin and Raphael Lavoie also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 2-3 in NHL pre-season play.
“They’re a hard-working team no matter who they have in the lineup, so we expected that,” said Oilers forward Derek Ryan, who recorded a pair of assists.
“There were points in the game where we were matching that intensity and work ethic and things were going well for us. We let the work ethic wane a little bit and then the game gets away from us. It’s a good message for those guys and the whole group that it starts with work.”
Jacob Melanson, Eduard Sell, John Hayden and Ben Mayers responded for the Kraken, who fell to 1-3 in exhibition action.
“I thought we were getting on the ice well, playing fast, playing up north,” Meyers said. “I think we probably gave up a little too much to win that game, but I thought offensively we played pretty well and had a chance.”
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The Oilers opened the scoring just over three minutes into the opening period as both defenders tried to cover Connor McDavid on a two-on-one, but he delivered a nice backhand pass to Nugent-Hopkins who deflected the ball past Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer. Defeated at the upper barrier. Side.
Seattle tied the game nine minutes in after Oilers goaltender Kelvin Pickard made a few saves before Melanson was able to get out of his crease.
Pickard left the game shortly thereafter when teammate Noah Philip got tripped up by his own netminder, causing a head injury. Picard did not return to the game.
Pickard’s replacement in the Edmonton net, Olivier Rodrigue, surrendered a power-play goal six minutes into the first game as Ryan Winterton picked off a deft pass over a defender and headed to the crossbar for the goal.
Edmonton took the game with 2:43 remaining in the first frame, as Ekholm found Phillip driving to the net and completed a long saucer pass through some Kraken players, allowing him to take the ball home. Permission granted.
Seattle took the lead 3–2 5:32 into the second period after Rodríguez attempted to direct a puck away from the net, but it went into the net off Hayden and caromed.
With two minutes left in the middle period, the Kraken added to their lead as Meyers decided to shoot on a two-on-one opportunity, beating the Oilers’ goaltender.
Edmonton got that goal just 26 seconds later, when Derek Ryan threaded the needle past a trailing Ekholm and beat Grubauer to make it 4-3.
The Oilers tied the game on a short-handed tally in the third minute, as Ryan made a great play to draw defenders before sending Podkolzin in for an easy tap-in.
Edmonton avoided overtime with 2:53 remaining in the final frame as Lavoie worked hard to retrieve the puck before moving forward and sending a shot through Grubauer’s legs.
Oilers head coach Chris Knoblauch has been impressed by Lavoie’s skills as a sniper.
“He’s got good hands and an even better shot,” he said. “He showed great skill on that goal.”
notes
The Oilers still had 41 players in camp – four goaltenders, 13 defensemen and 24 forwards. … Seattle was left with 37 players in camp after cutting eight players before Friday’s contest against Vancouver – 33 skaters and four goaltenders. …Edmonton’s camp had both players who are in PTO in Saturday’s lineup, forward Mike Hoffman and defenseman Travis Dermott. … Grubauer made his first appearance since last Sunday’s 6-1 loss to Calgary, during which he allowed four goals on 19 shots.
answer next
Kraken: Visit Calgary Flames on Monday.
Oilers: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
