The Oilers have achieved their 14th consecutive win by beating the Blue Jackets.
In Edmonton, Stuart Skinner managed to hold off the opposition and give the Edmonton Oilers a chance to rally, resulting in them extending their impressive winning streak to 14 consecutive victories.
On Tuesday, the Oilers achieved a 4-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, extending their winning streak. Skinner, the goalie, successfully blocked 27 shots, while Foegele and Kane each contributed a goal and assist.
The goalie for the Oilers, who is in his second year with the team, achieved a remarkable feat by winning his 11th consecutive game. This surpassed the previous record set by Grant Fuhr for the longest winning streak in a single season in Oilers history.
Skinner expressed his gratitude, stating that it holds significant value to him. He acknowledged experiencing a whirlwind of emotions, particularly when he received recognition as the first star on the ice. He found it incredibly exciting to surpass a record set by one of the greatest goalies in history.
"He is clearly someone I admire and have had conversations with. He is simply exceptional. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to surpass his achievements."
Foegele recognized Skinner's quick thinking while the rest of the team struggled to get settled.
"After the second period, we could have easily been trailing by five goals. But our goaltender was incredibly strong and reliable. His performance has been astonishing," Foegele expressed. "His exceptional play has been consistent for the past few months."
The Oilers (27-15-1) accomplished the impressive feat of winning 14 consecutive games, making them one of the few teams in NHL history to achieve this milestone. In addition to Connor McDavid and Dylan Holloway, who both contributed goals, the team showcased their exceptional talent and skill.
The Pittsburgh Penguins set a record in the 1992-93 season with 17 consecutive wins. Currently, the Oilers have achieved an impressive record of 22 wins and 3 losses in their last 25 games. Additionally, they have recently reached a franchise milestone by going 12 games in a row without allowing more than two goals.
Dmitri Voronkov, representing the Blue Jackets with a record of 14-23-9, stepped up in response as they have experienced defeat in five out of their previous six games.
Columbus forward Adam Fantilli expressed that he believed their team had a strong beginning and dominated the game during the first two periods.
"We are a group that has the ability to significantly disturb the progression of a game due to our quickness, and I believed that was our strategy – to start off playing fast and causing disruption. Initially, it seemed like things were going according to plan, but towards the end, we deviated from it."
In the beginning of the game, Edmonton took the lead by scoring on a power play about eight and a half minutes into the first period. Kane passed the puck into a group of players, and Foegele managed to score his 10th goal of the season by chipping it past Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
Columbus had a few opportunities to equalize the score not long after. There was a moment when the puck remained loose under Skinner following a deflection by defender Cody Ceci, but the play was stopped by the referee. Additionally, Johnny Gaudreau managed to go on a breakaway, but Skinner swiftly used his glove hand to prevent a goal.
The Edmonton team's poor performance in the first period became evident with 4 minutes and 35 seconds left in the game, when Kent Johnson passed the puck back to Voronkov, who quickly scored his 10th goal before Skinner could recover.
In the middle of the second period, it appeared that the Oilers were once again ahead thanks to a power-play goal from McDavid. However, after reviewing the video, the goal was deemed offside and subsequently overturned.
Columbus stayed dominant throughout the second period, taking 23 shots compared to Edmonton's 13. Edmonton went without recording a shot for over 10 minutes in the second period.
In the third period, Edmonton took the lead 2-1 after five minutes when Kane capitalized on a significant rebound and scored his 15th goal.
Less than a minute after, the Oilers increased their lead by scoring two goals. McDavid scored his 17th goal by shooting the puck into the net, while Columbus' Erik Gudbranson accidentally collided with the Oilers' Zach Hyman and their own goalie. This goal extended McDavid's streak of scoring points in home games to 17 consecutive games.
With 4 minutes and 24 seconds remaining in the last period, Edmonton increased their advantage as Merzlikins made a crucial stop on Connor Brown, but Holloway was there to score his second goal of the season into an undefended net from the rebound.
"I believe that we all recognized that if we performed our style of hockey in the third period, as we did not in the previous two periods, we had a good opportunity to succeed," Kane expressed. "In my opinion, we successfully executed that strategy for the most part."
