Hyman scores hat trick, Oilers defeat Senators for 7th straight win
Hyman #Hyman
Evan Bouchard had three assists for the Oilers (20-15-1), who moved into a playoff spot for the first time this season, pulling even with the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card from the Western Conference. Skinner made 29 saves.
“Our goal was to get into that picture,” said Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch, who took over on Nov. 12, when the team was 3-9-1. “The timeline? It’s definitely happened a lot quicker than we assumed. Back in Washington (in late November), we talked about our goal, what we had to do to get in and it was eight-game segments. We had to plug it out. If we went 5-3 we would get there.”
Parker Kelly scored, and Anton Forsberg made 43 saves for the Senators (14-21-0), who lost their third in a row.
Ottawa is 3-6-0 since Jacques Martin took over as coach Dec. 18.
“I thought we played pretty well,” Martin said. “They’re a good hockey club, and I think a couple of breakdowns and their special teams made a difference. I still thought we did a pretty good job on our penalty kill, we missed the one clear for their first goal and then I thought the second goal we could have played it a little better in the neutral zone.
“But overall, I can’t blame the effort. I think we have to build on this.”
Hyman put Edmonton ahead 1-0 at 18:08 of the second period on the power play, tipping in a wrist shot from the point by Bouchard past Forsberg’s blocker.
Hyman then extended it to 2-0 at 2:46 of the third period, taking a pass from Bouchard and scoring on a wrist shot from the top of the circle that trickled through the arm of Forsberg.
Kelly cut it to 2-1 at 15:02 after poking the puck past Skinner in the crease. The play was initially waived off due to goaltender interference before being overturned following a challenge by Ottawa.
“They made a call and to be honest, it is what it is,” Skinner said. “It was a tight game, so to be able to get the two points is most important. Obviously, it is nice to get shutouts, but I am not really here to do that. I am just here to win the games.”