EDMONTON, AB – Picks was kickin' the whole way to earn his ninth win over his last 10 starts.
Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 26 saves in a first-star performance at Rogers Place to backstop the Edmonton Oilers to their third straight victory with a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken, lifting the Blue & Orange back into first place in the Pacific Division on Monday night.
With Stuart Skinner out to attend the birth of his second child, the 32-year-old came up clutch in the second period with a trio of fantastic saves that kept things at 2-2 after captain Connor McDavid marked his return from a three-game suspension early in the frame with the tying goal and his 21st of the season.
"First and foremost, it's nice playing behind such a good team – a team that knows how to win and expects to win every single night," Pickard said. "I just have to go out there and do my job and trust my teammates to do theirs, and they've been doing that."
Veteran Corey Perry notched the game-winning goal before the middle frame's midway mark on a wide-open breakaway at the end of a crazy sequence that included Pickard's three crucial stops before Mattias Ekholm iced the victory with a 200-foot empty-netter with 58 seconds on the clock in regulation to go along with the Swede's assist on McDavid's earlier marker.
Forward Mattias Janmark also ended a 37-game goalless drought in the opening frame, scoring his first goal since Nov. 3 against the Calgary Flames.
University of Alberta Bears goaltender Tyler Palmer filled the backup role for the Oilers with Stuart Skinner unavailable, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins recorded an assist to give No. 93 a three-game point streak of three goals and two assists.
Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and Connor Brown also contributed single helpers in the victory that re-takes first place for the Oilers in the Pacific over the Vegas Golden Knights with a 32-15-3 overall record, including 22 wins over their last 29 games (22-6-1) since Nov. 21.
The Oilers will host the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Place on Thursday before concluding their six-game homestand on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.