Connor Ingram battled valiantly, stonewalling an elite Avalanche squad until the shootout. The Oilers' offense faltered even with their defensive game coming along.
"You've got to find a save somewhere." That's what goaltender Connor Ingram said after a stellar performance on Monday night for the Edmonton Oilers, where he did everything but win the game.
Ingram was dialed in and kept the Oilers in the mix with the Presidents' Trophy winners in the Colorado Avalanche. He simply lost the skills competition they call the shootout -- and to three pretty good shooters in Valeri Nichushkin, Martin Necas, and Nathan MacKinnon.
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When asked about his game, Ingram said he feels pretty good. When asked about how he's reading the game and the plays, including those of his teammates: "I'm not the guy for answers like that. I don't really know what I'm doing out there, just stop the puck."
Ingram is simple and concise when he speaks—much like his game in goal. He’s not flashy, and he doesn’t overmove. He stays in position and focuses on doing his job. His teammates have noticed that consistency, and they were disappointed they couldn’t find that extra goal for their netminder—one he absolutely deserved.
"I think he’s just really coming into his own here," said defenseman Mattias Ekholm. He spoke about how solid Ingram has been for the Oilers, noting, "Obviously, coming into a situation where he didn’t really know anyone, just trying to do his thing, and now he’s starting to get more comfortable. You can see it out there—he’s got more swagger. I’m really liking his game."
He added, "I think he’s been our best player here for the last little bit. It sucks that we couldn’t pull out a win for him, but I’ve got nothing but praise for the way he’s been playing lately."
"Pretty much since his time here, he's given us a lot of quality starts... The last week or two, I think he's even elevated his game," said head coach Kris Knoblauch. There's no doubt at this point that Knoblauch will ride Ingram into the playoffs and then as the starter.
Ingram was excellent for the Oilers, but lost in the shootout. © Perry Nelson Imagn Images It's the right decision.
Despite being frustrated and smashing his stick over the net after the shootout loss, Ingram deserves to be in goal.
Now, the Oilers just need to find him some run support. The team's overall defensive game has improved tremendously, but they weren't able to get that one elusive goal on Monday night.
“I think we’re working hard. I think we’re denying a lot of the Grade-A chances against, and obviously, we’d like to create a little bit more offense and score some more goals. But yeah, it starts with good defense," said Ekholm. He added, "We’ve had a stretch now where I’ve liked the way we’ve been playing on the defensive side of the puck, but again, we’ve got to try to find the net as well. ...You’ve got to score more goals than them, and we didn’t tonight."
On an extended 5-on-3 that the Oilers failed to capitalize on, they could have used Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. The team isn't making excuses. "Obviously, we’ve got some guys out, but we have to deal with injuries—that’s part of it," noted Ekholm.
"I think we’ve got a strong lineup in here that can score goals, and it’s just a matter of getting through a little bit of a slump these last two games. Again, as long as we take care of the defensive side, we’re still in games, and we have been in both of these."
Ingram has no issues with how his team is playing defensively in front of him. And, he's certainly not the type of teammate to throw anyone under the bus for not scoring. All that said, Ingram deserved a goal tonight from the Oilers. He made key stops, got a few friendly assists from his goal posts, and faced some elite shooters in the shootout. He clearly wasn't perfect, but he was pretty darn close.
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