{"id":920615,"date":"2026-10-04T19:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/920615\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T19:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T19:06:14","slug":"we-didnt-give-up-a-touchdown-oilers-find-defensive-footing-in-win-over-kraken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/920615\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We didn’t give up a touchdown’: Oilers find defensive footing in win over Kraken"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Oilers have proven they can get it done without running and gunning.<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to give him nine points through three games as the Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Owen Michaels and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers (2-0-1), who opened with a pair of high-scoring affairs against the Vancouver Canucks, losing the first 6-5 in OT before going up 8-2 in the rematch only to end up having to squeeze by with a 9-7 victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe defended well for the most part and were able to stick with it. Eventually you\u2019ll find a bounce or a look at some point,\u201d said Draisaitl, who scored his third of the season to put his team up 2-1 with just 2:27 left in the third.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is certainly how we want to play. The last game got away from us a little bit and it was not the easiest situation, but you can certainly play better and tonight was a solid, solid effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDavid, with two goals and seven assists on the season, became the first player with seven or more assists through his team\u2019s first three games of a season since Brad Marchand did it with Boston in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Devon Levi made 19 stops to earn the win in the Oilers\u2019 net, getting the start again despite allowing seven goals in his last appearance in Vancouver on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally walk away from that Vancouver game just with the win. That\u2019s all I took from that game. Turn the page and get to work the next day,\u201d said Levi, who spent the entire year in the AHL last season with the Buffalo organization. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy, but I\u2019ve definitely been through harder. Just the past few years, there\u2019s definitely been some adversity that\u2019s really taught me it\u2019s one day, it\u2019s one game. The ups, the downs? They come, they go.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust knowing that the coaches trust me, the boys trust me, definitely improves confidence as a goalie, for sure. The support system here has been amazing so far. It definitely feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oilers head coach Mike Babcock was certainly happy to see the goals against come down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t give up a touchdown!\u201d he said. \u201cWe got good goaltending tonight. We made a mistake on that second penalty kill and they had a bell-ringer and he made the save.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned the puck over on a reverse and they end up with a great chance. You have to give him credit because we haven\u2019t had that. That was really positive tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michaels, a 24-year-old Michigan native, went undrafted before helping Western Michigan win their first national championship in program history in 2025. He signed as a free agent with Edmonton and surprised many by making the team out of camp. He now has two goals in his first three pro games at the NHL level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an unbelievable feeling, it hard to find the words,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just happy to see them go in the net and it helps playing with some great linemates and everyone has been awesome so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonton now owns a 16-4-1 overall record against the Kraken and 9-1-0 all-time at home, with eight consecutive wins. The Oilers have four of the top five scorers all-time against Seattle, with Draisaitl first with 35 points in 16 games, McDavid second with 28 points, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins third and Zach Hyman fifth.<\/p>\n

Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman were among seven players already out with injuries for Edmonton.<\/p>\n

It was the 126th time that Draisaitl and McDavid have both scored in the same game. Edmonton is 95-21-10 when that occurs.<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Edmonton as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

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