It may have been his birthday, but goaltender Connor Ingram was the one handing the Edmonton Oilers a present on Tuesday.
Celebrating his 29th birthday, Ingram made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and ninth of his career as the Oilers extended their winning streak to four games, getting past the Seattle Kraken 3-0.
“He played really well,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We talk about our defensive zone coverage and how we’re playing really well, eliminating turnovers and all that, but if he doesn’t make those saves we’re probably talking about our turnovers and our defensive lapses.
“We did have turnovers, we did have mistakes in our coverage, but when your goaltender makes all the saves and plays as well as he did tonight we kind of ignore that stuff.”
Ingram became the first goalie in Oilers history to post a shutout on his birthday and the sixth in franchise history to record multiple shutouts in his first season with the club. The Saskatchewan native was picked up from Utah for future considerations on Oct. 1 as some insurance likely to remain on the farm, but has ended up becoming Edmonton’s starter, now sporting a 14-8-2 record.
“The more you play the easier it is going to get,” Ingram said. “I thought everybody in front of me did a great job today. I didn’t really have to do much back there, maybe that bad bounce on the PK that kicks out to the slot. Other than that, I thought everybody in front of me made my job really easy.”
Ingram has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, earning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2024 in recognition of his mental health struggles.
Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers (38-28-9) who have won six of their last eight and became the second last team in the NHL to put together a four-game winning streak, with only Philadelphia unable to have a stretch that long this season.
“Our game isn’t sexy right now. It’s not fancy,” Knoblauch said. “It’s just a lot of little things, and that’s usually the difference between winning and losing. We have six D and 12 forwards each night who are doing it.”
Edmonton moved two points back of Pacific Division-leading Anaheim and three points up on third place Vegas.
“I feel like ever since we had the conversation about everyone stepping up a bit, it seems like everyone’s kind of just doing a little bit extra out there,” Jones said.
The Oilers have been playing stronger defence of late, especially since learning star forward Leon Draisaitl was lost for the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury,
“I think we’re just trying to simplify the game a little right now, trying not to do too much,” Kapanen said. “Obviously we still have amazing players that can play with the puck and make plays, but I think the general idea is to simplify. We’re obviously missing Leo out there, so it seems to be working right now and so we need to keep doing that.
“The main thing is that we’re playing the right way right now and that counts, so we just have to keep building.”
McDavid extended his goal streak to five games. He leads the NHL in goals since Dec. 1 with 32. The Oilers captain in now one point back of Dale Hawerchuk for the third-most points by a player before age 30. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are first and second on that list.
The Kraken (32-30-11) have lost six of their last seven and remain two points out of a wild-card playoff berth.
“We know where we are,” said Kraken forward Matty Beniers. “Obviously tonight was very important and we didn’t get it done, but there is really no reason to dwell on it now, it’s learn from it and then win the next one. Then it’s win the next one, and that’s the mentality that we have in here.”
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