Edmonton Oilers Snap Losing Streak with Victory Over Seattle Kraken

EDMONTON — Demonstrating grit and determination, Mattias Ekholm led the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-4 win against the Seattle Kraken, ending a three-game losing streak for the team on Saturday. The encounter took place at Rogers Place and saw Ekholm deliver an impressive performance with one goal and two assists.

Throughout the match, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Noah Philp, Vasily Podkolzin, and Raphael Lavoie also contributed to the score sheet for the Oilers, who improved their record to 2-3 in the NHL pre-season.

“They are a hard-working team, no matter who they have in the lineup, so we expected that,” stated Oilers forward Derek Ryan, who assisted twice during the game. “There were points in the game where we were kind of matching that intensity and work ethic, and things were going well for us. We let the work ethic dip a little bit and then the game gets away from us. It is a good message to the guys who were playing and the whole group that it starts with work.”

The Kraken, who dropped to 1-3 in exhibition play, saw Jacob Melanson, Eduard Sale, John Hayden, and Ben Meyers finding the net. Meyers noted, “I thought we were getting up the ice well, playing fast, playing north. I think we probably just gave up a little bit too much to win that game, but I thought offensively we played pretty well and we had our chance.”

The clash began less than four minutes in, with Nugent-Hopkins opening the scoring, converting a deft backhand pass from Connor McDavid as both defenders converged on him. Seattle leveled the score when Melanson capitalized on a crease scramble after initial saves from Edmonton’s goaltender Calvin Pickard.

Pickard was replaced by Olivier Rodrigue following an accidental collision with teammate Noah Philp. Carefully executed plays by the Kraken gave Sale a power-play goal later in the first period, setting the score at 2-1 in favor of Seattle.

Ekholm’s pinpoint passing equalized the match again, feeding Philp for a strike late in the first frame. Seattle regained the lead early into the second period after a clumsy redirect by Rodrigue resulted in a gaffe, and Meyers expanded the Kraken’s lead on a two-on-one scenario later.

Showing resilience, the Oilers responded through Ekholm’s sharp finish from Derek Ryan’s setup to trail 4-3. A breakthrough came in the third period when Vasily Podkolzin scored to equalize the game, capitalizing on Ryan’s strategic play.

Finally, Edmonton emerged victorious with a decisive moment from Lavoie, who skillfully maneuvered the puck through the legs of Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer towards the end of the game. Oilers’ head coach Kris Knoblauch praised Lavoie’s skill on the deciding goal, stating, “He’s got good hands and an even better shot. He showed great skill on that goal.”

Upcoming matches see the Kraken visiting the Calgary Flames, while the Oilers prepare to host the Vancouver Canucks, both on Monday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 28, 2024.