{"id":621428,"date":"2026-04-21T13:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621428\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:13:09","slug":"oilers-goaltender-connor-ingram-gets-job-done-for-oilers-in-first-career-playoff-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/621428\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram gets job done for Oilers in first career playoff win"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDMONTON \u2014 While it\u2019s a small sample size, Connor Ingram<\/a>\u2019s first career playoff victory boded well for the Edmonton Oilers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old goalie from Saskatoon was clutch when he needed to be in Edmonton\u2019s 4-3 see-saw win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks<\/a> to open their first-round NHL playoff series.<\/p>\n

Ingram was light on playoff experience heading into Monday\u2019s game with just three post-season losses with the Nashville Predators<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cTook me four tries, but I\u2019ll take it. It means a lot,\u201d Ingram said after a 25-save performance.<\/p>\n

He became the third goaltender to earn a win in his first post-season appearance with Edmonton after Jack Campbell<\/a> in 2023 and Andy Moog in 1981.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a while. I was kind of anxious to get it going,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cIt\u2019s a late game, we\u2019re here early. You just kind of sit around waiting for it to start. It\u2019s kind of like \u2018let\u2019s hurry up and do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ingram seemed an unlikely candidate to be Edmonton\u2019s playoff starter when acquired from the Utah Mammoth<\/a> for future considerations in October. The Mammoth had told him not to report to training camp.<\/p>\n

The Oilers still had in the fold longtime starter Stuart Skinner<\/a>, who was eventually dealt in December to Pittsburgh in a package deal that brought goaltender Tristan Jarry<\/a> to Edmonton.<\/p>\n

But Ingram\u2019s 6-4-2 record over Edmonton\u2019s last 15 games of the regular season solidified a chance to start the playoffs in the Oilers\u2019 net.<\/p>\n

For a man who got the bulk of his career starts in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena when he played for the Arizona Coyotes, the roar of Rogers Place playoff hockey was a new sensation for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo walk out that tunnel today, it\u2019s a different animal,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cIt\u2019s loud in there. It was fun. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the anthem, one thing I always do is just kind of smile and take it all in. That was one today where I was like \u2018this is cool.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After Ingram denied Beckett Sennecke<\/a> on his doorstep, the Oilers scored an equalizer on their next trip down the ice in Monday\u2019s third period.<\/p>\n

Ingram repelled Leo Carlsson<\/a> from close range later in the period. Ingram was out of position, but got his pad on a Mikael Granlund<\/a> attempt in a last-second scramble.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave us a chance, so he was big,\u201d said Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Edmonton squandered a 2-0 lead after one period when the Ducks scored three unanswered goals.<\/p>\n

Asked how he felt his teammates played in front of him in the game, Ingram replied, \u201cI know my role. I\u2019m staying within the blue paint. Ask somebody else those questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ingram has been open about his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and mental health struggles. <\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which goes to the player who \u201cbest exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey\u201d has spent time in the league\u2019s player assistance program.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis personality, his demeanour, is just pretty roll the punches,\u201d said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. \u201cHe\u2019s enjoying his time here, feels confident playing in front of the team. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know the players appreciate what he\u2019s bringing. He\u2019s just a guy who\u2019s enjoying playing hockey. I know he\u2019s had some rough stretches in the past, but I think he\u2019s in a really good spot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDMONTON \u2014 While it\u2019s a small sample size, Connor Ingram\u2019s first career playoff victory boded well for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-621428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}