PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Penguins

The Edmonton Oilers conclude back-to-back games on Sunday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Place.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 7:00 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Penguins

EDMONTON, AB – The Oilers return to Rogers Place to close out a weekend back-to-back against the Penguins on Sunday night after Stuart Skinner held down the crease in heroic fashion on Saturday afternoon in Seattle.

The Oilers netminder bookended his 24-save performance in Edmonton’s 2-1 victory over the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena with some sensational saves both early and late in regulation, with his largest contribution coming in the final minute when he laid out to deny former Oiler Jordan Eberle with a terrific right-pad save during a late six-on-four scenario.

“I definitely felt good. I felt good right off the bat,” Skinner said post-game. “I got into the game pretty quickly. Their first two chances were pretty good ones, and when you stop both of them, you tend to feel a little bit better about the night.”

“I got a little bit fortunate with getting time to get back to my feet and then being able to get across on Eberle,” he added. “I think that was a really big moment for me, but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Seattle tonight. I thought they came out hot and they stayed that hot for the whole game… but I’m really happy the way that we played, especially in the six-on-four.”

Skinner commended the defencemen in front of him for their often-unheralded work in helping lock down the victory, with Vincent Desharnais putting his body on the line late in the game around the crease, but another blueliner in Brett Kulak stole the spotlight with the game-winning goal.

The Stony Plain product let go of a wrist shot that went off the left post and in behind goaltender Philipp Grubauer for his third goal of the season, giving the Oilers a 2-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the third period.

“It’s always feels good contributing that way,” Kulak said. “I know it doesn't happen all the time, but when you see one go in, it feels good – especially since it was a tight game. There weren't too many goals happening and it proved to be a big one, so it was exciting.”

The 30-year-old's shot looked like it might’ve caught a piece of Leon Draisaitl’s stick on the way through, but the German, who reached the 30-goal mark for the sixth straight year earlier in the game, pointed towards his defenceman to acknowledge that it was his goal.

As Sportsnet play-by-play Jack Michaels said during the broadcast, you usually have to defer to the reactions of the players on the ice and this proved to be correct on Saturday, with Kulak getting the credit for his first goal since New Year's Eve in Anaheim and the all-important insurance goal that would come in handy later in the final frame.

“I know he kind of skated through the seam or whatever there. I wasn't sure if he got a stick on it or not, but I was just trying to get it there quick,” Kulak said. “To see it go in, it felt good but I couldn't tell if he tipped it or not. He was acting like he didn't touch it, so that kind of made me feel like it was mine.”

“I think he's happy to see the puck go in, whether it's off his stick or off a teammate’s,” Kulak said. “Whether it's his or mine, no matter what, to get the game-winning goal is nice.”

The Oilers have won three straight games and now sit in second place in the Pacific Division, passing the Vegas Golden Knights after their rival’s loss against Buffalo on Saturday night.

Edmonton trailed Vegas by 20 points on two separate occasions this season, but have completely turned their fortunes around since Dec. 20 with a 23-5-1 record.

“It's nice to just find a way to get the job done,” Kulak said. “And what I like is when things aren't going our way, we've had so many comeback wins where we're just down a couple of goals and it's no problem. We're believing in each other and just playing our game. We're getting results, so that's nice to see.”