The Edmonton Oilers won their 14th in a row on Tuesday night, pulling out a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rogers Place.
“We got away with one,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game.
The Oilers took the lead 7:30 into the game on the power play. Evander Kane raced down the left side and sent a pass in front to Warren Foegele, who tallied his 10th of the season.
“We’ve got great leaders in this room and I think guys have been buying into that and that’s one thing that’s really helped us go on this streak,” Foegele said.
Dmitri Voronkov tied it after Sam Gagner turned the puck over near the Oilers’ net.
The second period was scoreless but not without action, much of it the Oilers’ end. The Blue Jackets kept the Oilers hemmed in much of the period and forced goaltender Stuart Skinner to come up with several good saves.
“I think that’s why us goalies love to play the game — moments like that where you’re able to come up with a couple big saves and keep your team in it,” Skinner said. “A big part of our job is being able to give your team a chance to win, and I think I did that for a couple periods, and then in the third period we took it home.
“It was really good pushback by our group.”
“In moments where we haven’t had our best hockey, he’s stepped up and kept it manageable and kept us in the game,” Evander Kane said of Skinner.
“We’ve done a good job of winning games different ways and you have to do that if you’re going to win 14 in a row.”
The Oilers did briefly celebrate a power-play goal by Connor McDavid but it was negated when the Blue Jackets successfully challenged for offside.
Just before the five-minute mark of the third, Brett Kulak’s shot went off Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and hit the post. Foegele was stopped before Kane finally stuffed home his 15th.
Only 55 seconds later, McDavid worked a shot past a downed Elvis Merzlikins. The goaltender had been knocked over by Oilers forward Zach Hyman, but the Blue Jackets didn’t challenge as Hyman had been pushed into the goalie.
Oilers forward Dylan Holloway added some insurance with a rebound goal with 4:24 left.
“He’s played two really good games for us,” Knoblauch said about Holloway.
“He’s been physical, fast and really reliable on the defensive side of the puck. It’s a good addition for our team.”
Skinner made 27 saves to set a new team record with his 11th-consecutive win.
The Oilers (27-15-1) will host the Chicago Blackhawks 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 at starts 7 p.m.
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