The Edmonton Oilers recorded their eighth-straight win by beating the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night at Rogers Place. It’s one shy of the franchise record for longest winning streak.
“It’s fun doing it the right way,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said after the game.
“The goals against and limiting chances and things like that, those are the keys to success and something that we’ve harped on. I think it’s key to this little run.”
Blackhawks rookie sensation Connor Bedard made his mark 3:21 into game, taking the puck down the left side and putting a pebble past the left shoulder of Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
“He made a really nice move,” Skinner said. “Very quick release and quick handle of the puck and he placed it very well as well.
“It’s hard to do to move it that fast and still pick a corner, so it’s a goal where I tip my hat, but I know I can still do something to improve on that.”
“It’s a good, hard shot right into the corner — very difficult for our goalie to save,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game.
“That’s an elite shot.”
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“Being able to get it off that quickly — that hard — in tight is really impressive,” Oilers forward Sam Gagner said about Bedard’s shot.
Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins replied with a shot right under the crossbar. Connor McDavid (10 games) and Evan Bouchard (12 games) had the assists to extend their point streaks.
Gagner scored late in the first when he converted a pass from Derek Ryan.
“They’ve made it work. They’re smart hockey players. They’re reliable and they’re working really hard,” Knoblauch said of the Gagner-Ryan-(James) Hamblin line.
“That’s our main objective, is to be a line that can be trusted — that can be good in the defensive zone but play in the offensive zone and try and cycle pucks and create advantages for the rest of our line,” Gagner said.
The Oilers went up 3-1 with 6:36 to go in the second when Leon Draisaitl’s hard pass was inadvertently knifed into the Chicago goal by Blackhawks defenceman Nikita Zaitsev.
McDavid found Zach Hyman for a power play tap-in 43 seconds into the third.
Skinner earned his seventh-straight win with 21 saves.
“It’s our job to keep it going and keep on getting two points,” Skinner said. “Another big two points for us to get above .500 here, so we’ve got to keep on moving forward.”
McDavid has 25 points in the last 10 games.
The Oilers (13-12-1) will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 7 p.m.