Tippett on Oilers: 'We've got things turned around'

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Washington Capitals 5-3 on Wednesday to enter the All-Star break on a six-game point streak.

The Oilers have climbed back up the standings with a 5-0-1 record in their past six games after a disastrous stretch which saw the team win just two of 15 games from Dec. 3-Jan. 30.

"We've got things turned around. We're finding enough goals to win," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said after Wednesday's win. "(Mikko) Koskinen has played real solid for us in [his past] five games, and we feel like we're back going in the right direction."

Koskinen allowed three goals on 27 shots Wednesday, posting a .897 save percentage to end a stretch of four straight games with a save percentage above .900. The 33-year-old posted a save percentage above .900 just once in seven starts from Dec. 5-Jan. 20, a stretch in which he failed to record a win.

Edmonton sits three points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference as the league pauses for the All-Star festivities in Las Vegas. With 11 games in 19 days following the break, Tippett admitted continuing to climb in the standings will be no easy feat. 

“We struggled for a while, and now we feel we’ve got all our players back,” Tippett said. “We feel like we’re back going in the right direction. We’ll take a little rest here. Our schedule gets real hectic in February. We’ll need everybody to make sure we’re ready.

"It’s only half the season, but it feels like the stretch run already. That’s what we’re going to gear up for.”