Connor Ingram Forces the Oilers’ Hand with Stellar Play Between the Pipes
Connor Ingram didn’t wait for permission - he made the decision for the Edmonton Oilers. With their goaltending situation in flux and questions swirling about how they’d manage three netminders once Tristan Jarry returned from injury, Ingram stepped into the crease and delivered a clear message: I’m not going anywhere.
And he backed it up the way goalies do best - with numbers.
Over five starts, Ingram posted a .923 save percentage against Nashville, .900 against Los Angeles, .967 against Chicago, .944 against the Rangers, and capped it off with a 27-save shutout against St. Louis.
That’s six goals allowed in regulation across five games and a 3-1-1 record. The lone loss?
A 1-0 heartbreaker to the Islanders.
You don’t send that kind of performance back to the AHL - not when your franchise has spent years searching for stability in net, and your presumed No. 1 is nursing a recurring injury. Ingram didn’t just step up; he seized the moment.
Whatever the Oilers’ original plan was when they called him up from Bakersfield, it’s been rewritten. Ingram wrote it himself - not with words, but with saves.
“A week ago, we weren’t sure what we were going to do,” head coach Kris Knoblauch admitted. “But now, the way he’s played his last couple of starts, he’s definitely earned a spot to play regularly.”
Let’s be clear: he’s not just playing regularly - he’s carrying the load. Ingram has started nine of Edmonton’s last 14 games, sporting a .917 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average overall. Those aren’t just solid numbers - they’re the kind of stats that earn you a permanent locker in the room, not a return ticket to the minors.
And for a while, sending him back down seemed like the easy move. He didn’t require waivers (unlike Calvin Pickard), as long as the Oilers made the move before last Saturday.
But Ingram didn’t leave room for debate. His play made the decision for them.
“Any day you’re in the NHL is a good day, no matter where you are or what you’re doing,” said the 28-year-old netminder. “This is the mecca of hockey in Western Canada.
This is what you watch growing up. This is one of the nicest buildings in the NHL.
So just to be a part of it for however long it’ll be, is something I’ll remember for a long time.”
Right now, he’s living the NHL life - quite literally - in a hotel across from the rink. His commute?
A quick walk through the pedway from the JW Marriott to Rogers Place. It’s not glamorous, but it’s focused.
And that’s exactly how he wants it.
“It feels good right now,” Ingram said. “My life’s just hockey.
There are a couple days a week I don’t even make it outside. I sleep and play hockey right now - it’s an easy life.”
The only thing missing? His wife, Sarah, who’s still back in Bakersfield, holding down the fort with their two dogs.
“I miss my family, I miss my dogs,” he said. “But right now it’s just simple. And I think that’s helping.”
For a team that’s long been searching for consistency in the crease, Ingram’s calm, steady presence has been a revelation. He’s not just filling in - he’s staking his claim. And if the Oilers want to keep climbing, they might’ve just found the guy to help them do it.