GAME RECAP: Oilers 2, Kraken 1

SEATTLE, WA – Stuart Skinner was sensational for the Oilers on Saturday in Seattle, making 24 saves and slamming the door on the Kraken in the final minute as Edmonton held on for a 2-1 win.

With the slim victory that also included goals from Leon Draisaitl and Brett Kulak, the Oilers moved into second place in the Pacific Division, one point up on the Vegas Golden Knights, who will face the Buffalo Sabres tonight with an opportunity to regain their position.

Saturday was Edmonton's third consecutive victory and Skinner's third in a row as well as the netminder has turned aside 94 of 99 shots he's faced for a sterling .949 save percentage.

"You look at the play of Skins the last three games, he's been outstanding and we've been tightening up a little bit defensively," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of the mini-streak. "The goaltending has been outstanding and he's been making big saves. The goal scoring hasn't been quite there that we would like. We haven't been able to find the net as often, but that'll come eventually."

FIRST PERIOD

Skinner was sharp early as the Kraken forced multiple turnovers in the Oilers zone. The Edmonton netminder got his blocker on Yanni Gourde's point-blank shot just 57 seconds into the game, and less than four minutes later he denied former Oilers forward Jordan Eberle with a diving stick save on a backhand deke attempt.

Seattle finally got a shot past Skinner at the 8:38 mark when Jared McCann redirected Justin Schultz's shot, but the puck snuck under the goalie's arm, made a direct hit on the far post and rolled conveniently right under number 74 as he squeezed his pads and drew a whistle.

"I definitely felt good right off the bat," Skinner said. "I got into the game pretty quickly. Their first two chances were pretty good ones, and when you stop both of them, it brings up the confidence going into the rest of the game."

Darnell Nurse also slashed McCann on the play, sending the Kraken to the power play, but the Oilers completed their 12th successful penalty kill in 14 attempts over the last five games to keep it scoreless.

After a bit of a chaotic start, Edmonton calmed down considerably in the latter stages of the first and generated a power play of their own when Zach Hyman was cross-checked by Jamie Oleksiak.

Philipp Grubauer flashed the leather to deny fellow German countryman Draisaitl's one-timer attempt on Edmonton's best chance of the man advantage and the score remained 0-0 through 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD

Just prior to the midway mark in the frame, Evander Kane made a nifty toe-drag move around Oleksiak and unleashed a wrist shot on net but Grubauer turned it aside.

The Oilers kept the momentum coming and scored on their very next trip down the ice as Connor McDavid stole the puck in the Kraken zone and got it up to Draisaitl, who carried it into Seattle territory. His backhand pass made its way back to McDavid, and the captain rifled the puck right back to Draisaitl for a no-doubt one-timer past Grubauer.

"Even when the game's not going so well, there are some teams that have that player that can break the game open," Knoblauch said of Edmonton's dynamic duo. "Just give them a little opportunity and they'll get on the scoreboard. We've got a couple of them and that was a big difference of the game."

The 1-0 tally was Draisaitl's 30th of the season as he's now achieved that goal milestone in six consecutive campaigns. The setup was McDavid's league-leading 73rd assist of the year and extended his point streak to 10 games.

He needed one more helper on Saturday to become just the second player in NHL history to record two or more assists in seven consecutive games, but unfortunately had to settle for the single. Wayne Gretzky went eight straight games with Edmonton during the 1984-85 season.

THIRD PERIOD

Skinner continued his stellar play early in the third period as Eberle made a pass from behind the net to find McCann in front. The Kraken's leading goal scorer and point producer on the year put a hard shot on net but Skinner squeezed it between his glove-side arm and torso to keep Edmonton up 1-0 five minutes into the final frame.

Kulak extended the Oilers lead to 2-0 at the 8:02 mark of the frame as he took a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and floated a point shot that snuck past Grubauer's pad, hit the post and went in for the defenceman's third goal of the season.

"It always feels good contributing that way," Kulak said. "It doesn't happen all the time, but when you see one go in, it feels good. Especially since it was a tight game. It was close. There weren't too many goals happening and it proved to be a big one."

Draisaitl was originally credited with his second goal of the game as it appeared he may have tipped the puck on its way to the net, but the eventual game-winner was soon switched to Kulak.

With Nugent-Hopkins in the box for holding, the Kraken were finally able to solve Skinner with 6:37 on the clock as Eeli Tolvanen bounced a shot off Darnell Nurse's glove in front for his 15th.

The Kraken pulled Grubauer in favour of an extra attacker with 1:41 remaining and the home side got a six-on-four advantage with 53 seconds left when Draisaitl took down McCann with a hold.

Seattle called a timeout, but their last-ditch efforts were no match for Skinner, who once again robbed Eberle at the side of the net to conclude his first-star performance.

"Being able to get across on Eberle, that was a really big moment," the goaltender said.

"We gave up more chances than we'd like to all game, but Stu played really well," Kulak added. "He's been great for us all season. It's nice to see that from him and gives confidence to the whole group. He's a big part of the team."

Skinner will get a well-deserved break on Sunday as his crease-mate Calvin Pickard will get the start when the Oilers return home to host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Place.