The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth game in a row Tuesday night, outscoring the Colorado Avalanche 6-4 in Denver.
The Avs had a 13-9 shot advantage in the first, but the Oilers had the period’s only goal. Kyle Brodziak chopped a rebound past Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov for his third of the season.
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Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen continued to thwart Avalanche scoring chances in the second period, and then the Oilers went up 2-0 on a goal by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The tally broke an 0-for-18-drought on the power play. Nugent-Hopkins struck again a few minutes later, chasing Varlamov from the Avs’ net. He allowed three goals on 18 shots.
Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer didn’t have much time to settle in after taking over in net. The first shot he faced was on a breakaway by Connor McDavid, who was sent in alone on a brilliant backhand pass from Leon Draisaitl. McDavid beat Grubauer five-hole for his 17th of the season.
Mikko Rantanen replied for Colorado, but Draisaitl tucked in a loose puck 41 seconds later to put the Oilers up 5-1 after two periods.
Colin Wilson scored a power play goal for Colorado early in the third, but Darnell Nurse came right back with a blast from the point on an Oilers man advantage. The Avs challenged for goalie interference as Draisaitl brushed Grubauer before the puck went in, but the goal stood.
Rantanen — who had two goals and two assists — and Gabriel Landeskog scored in the final four minutes to round out the scoring.
Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist. Draisaitl had a goal and two assists. Koskinen made 39 saves for the win.
Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock said after the game that he felt Koskinen was fatigued in the third period after the Oilers took a couple of penalties. But Hitchcock added that at the end, it was a big victory for his team.
“When you win on the road, and especially in this building against that team, that team is arguably one of the best teams in the Western Conference, that’s a real good feather in our cap.”
LISTEN BELOW: Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock talks after the Oilers’ 6-4 win over Colorado.
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Oilers defenceman Oscar Klefbom played only one shift after blocking a shot in the second period.
Hitchcock said Klefbom will head back to Edmonton to have his hand injury evaluated. He said he expects the defenceman will be out for “weeks, not days.”
The win gives the Oilers their first four-game winning streak since December 2017.
The Oilers (17-12-2) will visit Winnipeg on Thursday.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2018-19 season.
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