The Edmonton Oilers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 road win over the Seattle Kraken Saturday night.
“I thought we came out and tried to dictate the play, not wait and see how the game was going to play out and we did a good job of that,” Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. “Critical to that was that save that Skins made early in that first period. I think it’s the third time we’ve given up 18 or less shots in our season — it’s nice to win one when you give up 18 or less.”
Zach Hyman sparked the attack with a natural hat trick in the first period. His first goal came when he lifted a backhand over Philipp Grubauer. He then banged in a rebound on a power play. His hat trick goal came when he found the puck in a scramble and wristed it inside the post. Dylan Holloway scored 1:02 after that to make it 4-0 Oilers after one.
“Just from a team perspective, I think just getting ahead, scoring first and being able to build the lead, I think . . . you know, when things aren’t going well you want to have a good cushion and it makes everybody feel a little more comfortable,” Hyman said. “When things are going well little bounces that don’t go your way aren’t a big deal, but when they go against you they’re a huge deal, so to have a cushion after the first was really important.”
The second period was scoreless.
With Holloway in the box for boarding early in the third, Jaden Schwartz put Seattle on the board with a puck that went in off his skate.
The Oilers didn’t have a shot on goal in the third, marking the sixth time in franchise history they’ve gone without a shot in a period. It last happened on March 3, 2013 in a 4-2 loss to Minnesota.
Stuart Skinner earned the win with 17 saves.
“It’s big,” Skinner said when asked about the win. “Definitely needed the points. Happy that we came out; we came out really hard. It was a great team effort. Got the win and get out of here.”
The Oilers, 3-9-1, will host the New York Islanders on Monday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 5 p.m., game at 6:30 p.m.)