EDMONTON, AB – Nothing like a clean sheet and two huge points earned on your cake day.
Connor Ingram made all 27 saves on his 29th birthday to record the shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken, giving the Edmonton Oilers their first four-game win streak of the season and two more important points in the Pacific Division playoff race at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
“The more you play, the easier it’s gonna 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, but other than that, I thought everybody in front of me made my job really easy.”
Tallies from Max Jones and Kasperi Kapanen in the first period provided Ingram with all the offensive support he needed to pick up his ninth career shutout, with Edmonton’s penalty kill stopping all three Seattle power plays to improve to 9-for-9 over their four straight victories.
“Everybody expects at this point in the season to know where you’re at and know what you need to be doing on the ice, so I feel like you can see it out there,” Jones said. “Guys are playing the way that they know that they should be, and we’re playing great, and it’s fun to be a part of outside of the ice and just being in the locker room.”
Connor McDavid added an empty-netter to extend his point streak to five games (6G, 4A), while Jake Walman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman all added helpers in the victory that reduced the gap between them and the Anaheim Ducks to two points in the race for the Pacific Division title.
The Oilers will continue their homestand on Thursday when they attempt to push their win streak to five games against Connor Bedard & the Chicago Blackhawks.