PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Kraken

The Edmonton Oilers look to make it four wins in a row on Tuesday night when they continue their four-game homestand at Rogers Place against the Seattle Kraken.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Kraken

EDMONTON, AB – Keep playing it simple with Seattle in town.

The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to extend their win streak to four and continue their push for first place in the Pacific Division on Tuesday night when they host the Seattle Kraken in another divisional matchup at Rogers Place.

The Blue & Orange came away with two massive points in a 4-2 matinée victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday to keep pace with the Pacific leaders, who now sit four points ahead of the Oilers after falling in the shootout to the Maple Leafs on Monday.

Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists, while forwards Jack Roslovic and Matt Savoie each found the back of the net to give themselves three goals apiece over the win streak to provide some solid depth scoring in the absence of Leon Draisaitl.

“I feel good,” said Roslovic, who's been playing with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “My game’s improving and the team’s game is improving, so I love the direction that it's going right now.  We just got to figure out a way to keep it going.”

"Hyms is such a great worker. Nuge is such a responsible player. I like to carry the puck and make plays. I think it's just a good blend of speed, responsibility, and they're obviously two prolific goal scorers. So it's a fun line."

Savoie is currently riding a three-game point streak and has six points (4G, 2 A) over his last eight games and 13 points (5G, 8A) over his last 16 games. The rookie sits 10th in scoring among rookies with 31 (14G, 17A) and is currently thriving on the wing with Connor McDavid and Vasily Podkolzin.

"He was able to reset and get some time off, and since the Olympic break, he's been playing really good hockey," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "The opportunity to play with McDavid obviously has a lot to do with that, but before he was playing with him, he was doing a lot of good things and had a hand in a lot of good plays."

Most importantly, Edmonton dialled it in defensively against the Ducks, who’d been surging with four straight wins by deploying a simple approach in recent games that’s seen everyone in the Oilers locker room buy in with how critical earning these points is down the final stretch of the regular season.

Coach Knoblauch said they’ll not only need to continue that, but also improve on their current form if they’re going to be able to catch the Ducks over their remaining eight games before the playoffs.

“We’re playing a lot faster because of that simplicity, and I think defensively, we're playing with a little more structure, but also a little more commitment to defence,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But there's been a lot of blocked shots the last few games, and you can just tell that the urgency to win your shift and do the little things is going a long way.”

“The urgency is just our schedule and where we are in the standings. Everyone knows how important all these games are, and we can't just relax and play this out.  We need to get better.  We need to win hockey games and get into the playoffs, and I think everyone has been doing that.”

Goaltender Connor Ingram made a season-high 31 saves in the win against Anaheim and has seen the simplicity on defence firsthand, which has helped him go 7-4-1 since the Olympic break. Tristan Jarry was solid as well with 16 saves during a victory over Utah earlier in the win streak.

“I think it's just the commitment to it,” he said. “Coming back from the Olympic break, we made a point of it, and I think right now, we're doing it and it's making our job a lot easier.

The Oilers will be aiming to carry it into their fourth and final meeting with the Kraken tonight, who've lost their last six visits to Rogers Place and are just 5-9-2 since the Olympic break with one win over their last six contests.

Edmonton is also getting healthier with the recent return of Curtis Lazar to the lineup and appearances from Colton Dach and Trent Frederic at practice on Monday. Both forwards could get back into the lineup at some point later this week when the team's homestand wraps up with dates against Chicago and Vegas on Thursday and Saturday.