Filed under: Due, Giving Credit Where Credit Is.
On Monday night, Edmonton goalie Ben Scrivens continued his turnaround from a disastrous start with a 3-0 win over Montreal -- his first shutout of the year and fourth consecutive win, coming on the same day he was named the NHL’s second star of the week.
From a guy that allowed 15 goals on his first 99 shots faced this season -- a putrid .848 save percentage -- Scrivens has done remarkably well to battle back and shine.
Not that it came as a surprise to Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins.
“The kid’s a battler,” is how Eakins described Scrivens last week. “He’s one of those guys, undrafted, who’s fought his way to this level. He’s earned his spot. And that’s what you want out of your players.”
Scriven’s turnaround actually began with a loss, oddly enough. After going 0-2-0 with a 5.21 GAA and .800 save percentage to start the year, the 28-year-old demanded a start against Vancouver on Oct. 17 and indirectly guaranteed a win; while the result (a 2-0 loss) wasn’t what Scrivens envisioned, he did play well in stopping 28 of 29 shots, which seemed to propel him forward.
From there, the results have been stellar:
Oct. 20: 22 saves in a 3-2 win over Tampa
Oct 22: 32 saves in a 3-2 win over Washington
Oct. 24: 27 saves in a 6-3 win over Carolina
Oct. 27: 29 saves in a 3-0 win over Montreal
Suddenly, the Oilers have buried the negative press received following their 0-4-1 start to the year, and they have a chance to extend their winning streak to five on Wednesday night at home against Nashville.
Edmonton will also have another date at Rexall on Saturday -- against the same Vancouver team that beat Scrivens two weeks ago.