GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Kraken 4 (Preseason)

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers captured their second win of the preseason on Saturday night with a 5-4 comeback victory over the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place.

The Oilers received a goal and two assists from defenceman Mattias Ekholm and multi-point performances from Derek Ryan, Ben Gleason, Evan Bouchard and Mike Hoffman. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Noah Philp, Vasily Podkolzin and Raphael Lavoie each contributed goals in the victory that ended a three-game exhibition losing streak for the Blue & Orange.

"They're a hardworking team, so no matter who they have in the lineup, we expected that and I think there are points in the game where we matched that intensity and that work ethic," Derek Ryan said post-game. "Things were going well for us, and we let the work ethic dip a little bit and the game got away from us.

"It's a good message to the whole group that everything starts with work."

After Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring in the first period, Philp found the scoresheet during a first period that ended 2-2 before Seattle worked themselves into a two-goal lead on the other side of the first intermission.

Ekholm halved the deficit 27 seconds after Ben Meyers gave the visitors a 4-2 lead in the final three minutes of the middle frame, leading to Derek Ryan setting up Vasily Podkolzin while shorthanded in the third period with his second helper before Raphael Lavoie notched the game-winner with 2:53 remaining in regulation.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard left the match in the first period following a collision in the crease, resulting in Olivier Rodrigue taking over between the pipes and backstopping the Oilers over the final 47:54 of the contest with 19 saves on 22 shots.

"He's being evaluated and we'll have more to say tomorrow," Knoblauch said.

The Oilers continue their exhibition schedule with their final home game of the preseason on Monday night when they host the Vancouver Canucks.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers' pace of play is starting to look more like regular-season hockey as the team's veterans get back up to NHL speed while other hopefuls engulfed in roster competition try to make their mark with only a few games left on the exhibition schedule to impress.

Edmonton's top line of Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid and Hyman all suited up for their second contest of the preseason on Saturday and filled the scoresheet on their opening goal that arrived 3:08 into the first period, creating a rush up ice that produced a finish similar to a few of the 28 even-strength goals they scored as a line in nearly 435 minutes of ice time together at five-on-five during the '24-25 NHL campaign, as per Natural Stat Trick.

Hyman whacked the puck ahead to McDavid in the neutral zone, avoiding the reaching stick of the Kraken defender before the Oilers captain came up the right side and offloaded a backhand pass into the slot for Nugent-Hopkins, who snapped a quick shot high blocker on netminder Philipp Grubauer for the 1-0 lead.

The club's longest-tenured player, who'll be entering his 14th season in a Blue & Orange uniform in '24-25, spoke on Friday about the need for him & his teammates to start ramping up their preparations for Oct. 9's season opener against the Winnipeg Jets, and his first goal of the pre-season is a positive step towards that.

Kraken forward Tye Kartye struck the post during the next minute before goaltender Calvin Pickard made a glove save on his follow-up opportunity, signalling there was still plenty of hockey left for the Kraken to forge their way back from an early one-goal deficit.

As the clock passed the nine-minute mark in the opening 20 minutes, the Kraken tied it up on a chaotic sequence around the Oilers' crease where the puck pinballed off a few bodies and found its way through Pickard's five-hole. Melanson got the last touch on it for Seattle before the visitors took the lead almost five minutes later on the power play.

With Hyman in the penalty box, forward Ryan Winterton sauced a pass over the laid-out Josh Brown and onto the tape of Eduard Sale on the opposite side for a one-timer that beat goaltender Olivier Rodrigue, who came in to replace Pickard in between the pipes for the Oilers after Edmonton's back-up was taken out of the game following a collision with his own teammate Noah Philp in the crease a few minutes earlier.

However, Philp would ensure the Oilers were even at two apiece entering the first intermission by getting behind Seattle's defence to accept a nice pass from Ekholm near the Kraken bench with 2:43 to go in the period.

The 26-year-old received the feed from the Swede and quickly let go of his ensuing shot to evade the out-stretched stick of Grubauer, nestling his shot into the left side of the Kraken net to tie it up at 2-2 with his first of the preseason.

"That was a nice goal," Knoblauch commented. "To be able to catch it and put it up there with very little room there, it was a nice play. And then, you look at things that he needs to do well and I thought he made some really nice plays. he killed [penalties] and broke up some nice plays. In faceoffs, I think he was 9-2, which is very important for him to be noticed. Just another good game from him."

As he returns to professional hockey this season following a one-year hiatus in '23-24, Philp is finding his stride at the NHL level and hopes to play a part in Edmonton at some point during the upcoming regular season as a bottom-six centre who can kill penalties, win crucial faceoffs from the right side and chip in offensively after finishing second in goals (19) just two seasons ago with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.

"You've got to be comfortable taking that first step, and a lot of the time as a centerman, you have to clean up the garbage in the corners and clear it out," he said. "If you hesitate, you might miss it because plays happen so fast and guys are so good at keeping the puck. So I'd say just getting in there quickly and breaking things up when you have the chance."

SECOND PERIOD

Inevitably, there are still some details the Oilers hope to clean up during the preseason, but it's also a chance for them to begin finding ways to bounce back.

The Kraken got a fortunate bounce just over five-and-a-half minutes into the middle frame when Rodrigue tried to push aside a centred pass from Brandon Tanev that was cleared into the chest of forward John Hayden before it found its way across the goal line for an easy go-ahead goal for the visitors.

The Oilers received a holding call assessed to Gustav Olofsson midway through the period for their second power play, where professional tryout Mike Hoffman was given PP1 reps in place of Leon Draisaitl, who didn't dress on Saturday night along with the rest of his expected linemates Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

Edmonton went 0-for-2 with the man advantage through 40 minutes and found themselves down by two before the intermission, but Ekholm would have an answer for his transgression which resulted in the Kraken's fourth tally of the night with 2:11 left in the second period.

Ekholm missed his pinch at the Kraken blueline in an attempt to stop a breakout, leading to a two-on-one for the visitors where forward Ben Meyers made him pay by going bar down on Rodrigue for the 4-2 advantage. The Swede then made up for it 27 seconds later, finishing Derek Ryan's pass from the right side that picked out the streaking defenceman in the slot after he entered the offensive zone.

With seconds left on the clock, the Oilers failed to take the lead on an odd-man rush for Hyman and McDavid, and the captain couldn't complete the back-door feed to his trusted winger at the far post.

THIRD PERIOD

Don't look now, but Derek Ryan is dishing.

After picking out Ekholm for the equalizer before the intermission, Ryan showed his penalty-killing prowess and passing touch on a short-handed equalizer where the 37-year-old helped break up a Kraken attack in Edmonton's zone before he cut inside on the ensuing rush and connected with Podkolzin, who was waiting in front to easily tap in the veteran's stellar pass into the empty cage beyond Grubauer.

The Oilers went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill on Saturday as they work to adjust some new pieces to their PK system following some key departures in that area this offseason.

"Obviously, we haven't had our whole group together in a game, so it's hard to really comment on that," Ryan said. "But I think we acquired some bodies that can contribute there and we're going to continue to kill the same way. The foundation is there, and again, it kind of starts with work."

So far, the veteran forward has liked what he's seen out of Podkolzin, who figures to be one of those penalty-killers and an offensive contributor on the fourth line.

"I like him a lot. I like his five-on-five game as well," Ryan commented on the Russian. "I think he works hard. He's a smart player and uses a stick well. That's a good penalty-killer right there."

With the contest tied at four with almost 14 minutes left for the Oilers to find the winner, it was forward Raphael Lavoie who marked his return on Saturday from a minor lower-body injury by netting the game-winning goal and his second of the preseason with a powering move through the left circle to open up space to send a shot along the ice that snuck through Grubauer's five-hole with 2:53 remaining in regulation.

Lavoie has now notched a power-play goal in Edmonton's pre-season opener and at even strength in Saturday's come-from-behind victory after leading the Condors in goalscoring with 28 during the '23-24 AHL season.

"Yeah, that was a key play. He's got good hands and an even better shot," Knoblauch said. "You can see how hard he can shoot the puck, especially on the on the power plant as a one-timer [against Winnipeg]. We've seen that a couple times this preseason, but the quick release we haven't seen as much. But tonight he showed great skill on that goal."

PTO forward Mike Hoffman made the initial pass to the Chambly, QC product, while defenceman Ben Gleason picked up the secondary helper on Edmonton's decisive tally that put a wrap on their 5-4 comeback victory in the preseason.