A loud cheer echoed through Rogers Place as Connor Ingram made his first save early, getting him into Sunday night's game versus the Vegas Golden Knights immediately. "I kind of blacked out," he said when asked if he'd heard the fans cheering him on. He said he knew he'd made the save, but not what happened after that.
Well, what came after that was a barrage from the Edmonton Oilers, who applied the pressure, testing Carter Hart often and with high-danger chances, many of which got behind the netminder.
It was the kind of start Edmonton needed, if for no other reason to put Ingram at ease.
The Oilers were the far better team in the first 30 minutes, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Connor McDavid drove wide and beat Hart at the 9:11 mark of the first period, then almost scored on what would have been a goal of the year candidate. He drew a call from the official, and the power play was a deadly weapon for the Oilers in the first two periods.
McDavid was flying -- as he's been known to do over these last 10 games --, bursting through four Golden Knights at the end of the penalty and drawing one himself.
It didn't take much time for Leon Draisaitl to find Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the man advantage to make it 2-0. Nuge snuck in on the weak side, and the Golden Knights didn't see him dropping down as Zach Whitecloud was focused on the crease.
The Oilers got an early power play in the second and, again, made quick work of it. Nugent-Hopkins got his second of the night. He had three points on the evening.
The Oilers continued to pour it on, and at the 7:45 mark of the second, Darnell Nurse hit the trailer in Zach Hyman, who went backhand roof for a pretty goal to make it 4-0.
The Golden Knights Pushed Back
The Golden Knights finally got on the board with a power play marker. Thomas Hertl got the puck in the slot and put one up higher over the blocker of Ingram. There was not much he could do, but it became clear almost immediately after that the push from Vegas was coming.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch said the Golden Knights were known as one of the league's worst first-period teams, but also the NHL's best in the third. He gave the Golden Knights credit for getting better as the game wore on.
Vegas scored two goals early in the third to make things interesting, forcing the Oilers to call a timeout to settle things down.
Ultimately, the Oilers withstood the push and, while they failed to score on an empty net, played solid enough in front of Ingram to pick up the win.
"Every Day Here Is a Good Day"
Following the game, Ingram spoke with the media and talked about his journey back to the NHL. It's unclear how long he'll be with the Oilers, but he's grateful for any and every day that he gets.
It's been a whirlwind to get back, but he's comfortable playing his part. "It's been hectic, but at the end of the day, no matter what level you're in, my job is just to stop the puck. I don't have to learn a forecheck or things like that; my job never changes. The guys did a great job making me feel welcome and showing me everything that I need to know. It's been great."
"There's a lot of days I didn't think it would ever happen again. It's just the truth of it in this world. It's a competitive game. There's 64 spots in the world to do this. You don't take it for granted any day you're up here. It's a huge honor."
Ingram is starting to feel like he's getting his game back, but he's aware there is a long ways to go.
"It was hard. Obviously, I didn't get to go to camp, so that was a huge setback. I was in Utah when that happened, so I took two weeks without touching the ice, and that's hard to come back from right before the season." He added, "It took me a sec to get it going again. It's just hockey, you put your skates on the same way, no matter where you are. Just go out and try to do your best. Every dog has their day."
When asked about the difference between the AHL and the NHL, "I think it's easier. In this, what you think should happen, does happen. I rely heavily in on reading the game, I've never been a guy that was fast enough or quick enough to react so I have to be one step ahead and in this league it's just easier to do that. Where you think the puck is going to go, 90% of the time it does. It's just easier to read and kind of figure it out from there. But it's a lot faster than what I'm used to the last couple months. There's still a lot of work to be done."
"I've been through enough to know the sun's coming up tomorrow. No matter what happens in this life, I've got a wife and a family that loves me and that's all that really matters at the end of the day. You want to win a hockey games, but there's a lot more to life than just hockey."
Credit to the Oilers for giving him a chance to settle in. They jumped out to an early lead and made his life a bit easier, at least for the first 30 minutes.
"I think I had a lot of help today.. it's not just me, I thought all of us played well. I think save percentage is a team stat. When we do a job like we did today, it makes my job easier. I thought it was a great effort from top to bottom."
When asked what he missed most: "Just being around it. You don't dream of playing in the AHL, you want to be in the NHL. Every day you're here is a good day."
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