Oilers, Koskinen hang shutout on Blackhawks

[November 02, 2018]  Drake Caggiula scored a pair of goals and Jason Garrison and Alex Chiasson added one goal apiece as the Edmonton Oilers pulled away for a 4-0 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.

Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen stopped all 40 shots he faced to earn his first career shutout. The 30-year-old native of Finland entered the game with only five career starts and three career victories.

Chicago was shut out for the first time this season. The Blackhawks have dropped back-to-back games to open a three-game road trip across western Canada and have dropped four consecutive games overall.

The score might have been more lopsided if not for a strong early start from Blackhawks goaltender Cam Ward, who made 25 saves. Ward started in place of Corey Crawford, who rested on the second night of a back-to-back set.

Edmonton opened the scoring 18 seconds into the second period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed a pass between the legs of a Blackhawks defender and onto the stick of Caggiula, who capitalized by punching a point-blank shot past Ward.

The Oilers increased their advantage to 2-0 with less than a minute to go in the second period. On the power play, Tobias Rieder slid a pass to the high slot for Garrison, who buried a one-timer for his first goal of the season.

Chicago slipped further behind by allowing a shorthanded goal with 13:11 remaining in the third period. Caggiula turned to his backhand for his second goal of the game and fourth of the season as Chicago forward Alex DeBrincat and several others raced in vain to get back in time.

Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen (19) makes a save during warmup against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

A two-on-one break led to the Oilers' fourth goal. Rieder picked up his second assist by setting up Chiasson near the right side of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

The game turned feisty in the final minutes with the score out of reach. Blackhawks defenseman Brandon Davidson drew a five-minute major for elbowing and a 10-minute misconduct for a high hit on Edmonton's Darnell Nurse.

Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane returned to the lineup after missing the previous game because of an illness. He tallied six shots on goal in 18:57 of ice time.

--Field Level Media

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