Player grades: Leon Drasaitl big as damn mountain but it's not enough to lead Edmonton Oilers over Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Jets right wing Nino Niederreiter (62) and Winnipeg Jets right wing Blake Wheeler (26) celebrate the second period goal by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) (not shown) on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell (36) at Canada Life Centre. Photo by James Carey Lauder /USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers got out-worked in this one by a Winnipeg Jets team evidently determined to get some revenge for Friday’s humiliation in Edmonton.

In the end, the Jets won 7-5, despite a brilliant effort from Leon Draisaitl, where he scored a hat trick. It was far from a great night for the goalies, with Jack Campbell in the Edmonton net coming up short overall, and short on several shots he might well have saved.

In the end, Grade A shots were 15 to 14 for the Jets, but the Oilers had nine 5-alarm shots compared to eight for the Jets (running count).

Connor McDavid, 7. He led the team with nine major contributions to Grade A shots, but could only muster a single assist from all that excellent process. On his first shift, he wheeled behind the net on the power to set up Bouchard’s harpoon that led to Draisaitl’s goal. He failed to cover off the slot man for the tip shot on Winnipeg’s third goal. He fired a one-timer pass to Draisaitl for Edmonton’s fourth goal. He launched some wicked shots on the Winnipeg net in the third but failed to score.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Another strong game from Edmonton’s quiet leader. His long pass sent in Janmark on a first period breakaway. A brilliant play on Edmonton’s second goal, picking off a pass on the PK, rushing up ice, going wide to open up the middle, then threading it again to Janmark, this time for a goal. He ripped two wicked outside wristers on net half-way through the third. He made a great pass to set up a 5-alarm shot by Hyman late in the third. He won 11 of 19 face-offs.

Leon Draisaitl, 9. For the third game in a row, he was flying out there. He won a board battle on his first shift of the game, always a good sign. Even better, he tapped in a rebound off a Bouchard shot for Edmonton’s first goal. He lost a battle behind the net, Edmonton’s first major defensive break down of the game, on Connor’s first period 5-alarm slot shot. He picked off a pass and launched a brilliant backhand shot for Edmonton’s third goal. He got the hat trick by charging the net and depositing McDavid’s hard pass into the slot. Early in the third, he batted a McD pass out of the air to Hyman, but Hyman failed to drain a bouncing pass. He made two sharp passes to set up a dangerous McD shots half-way through the third. He led all forwards playing 23:58.

Kailer Yamamoto, 6. He was moving fast up and down the ice in this one. He picked off a pass to break up a threatening Jets power play early on. He won a key board battle in the third leading to a McDavid Grade A shot.

Zach Hyman, 4. Hasn’t been at his best lately, as this game was part of that trend. Poked the puck to Draisaitl on Edmonton’s first goal. He was slow on the back check and allowed the outside shot on Winnipeg’s third goal. He came close to scoring but could not slam home passes from Draisaitl and RNH in the third.

Ryan McLeod, 3. He had a weak game on defence, losing too many battles and making mistakes on both Winnipeg first period goals. Brain glitch saw him fail to cover Mark Scheifele in the slot on Winnipeg’s first goal. Next, he threw away the puck leading up to Winnipeg’s second goal.

Warren Foegele, 4. Failed to keep alive his run of superior play. Some solid, confident plays with the puck early on but faed as game went on and got few shifts.

Mattias Janmark, 7. One of his better games, though not without a blemish. He charged in on a breakaway early on but Hellebuyck poke-checked him. A moment later he broke his stick, kicking off the Sequence of Pain on Winnipeg’s first goal, as he was unable to cut out a crucial pass. He made no mistake on his second break-in chance, pounding in the pass from RNH for Edmonton’s second goal.

Nick Bjugstad, 6. Good effort, good goal. He blocked a hard shot on his first shift and handled the puck well in the o-zone later in the game. He won a face off then went hard to the net, pounding in a great pass from Shore to make it 6-5.

Devin Shore, 6. Did OK. He beat out Klim Kostin to get into the line-up, an iffy move by the coaching staff and an unpopular move with many fans, even as Shore has been playing better as of late. He made an excellent pass to set up Bjugstad. I’m OK with Shore playing here but knowing the game was going to be physical I would have preferred to see Kostin in for one of Shore or Ryan. Make sense?

Derek Ryan, 5. Quiet game but made an excellent hustling back check and stop ofn Scheifele late in the third.

Darnell Nurse, 5. He had a bad luck game but the effort was there and was generally solid. He crept a bit high, making him partly to blame for the breakaway on the fifth Winnipeg goal. He stood up for McDavid when Finnish forward Saku Maenalanen — which I understand roughly translates to Meathead-lanen in Finnish — took a run at the Oilers captain. Winnipeg scored on the following power play. But I’m still glad Nurse went after Maenalanen. Others are free to disagree.

Cody Ceci, 4. Not his best game. He blasted Vlad Namestnikov with a solid hit early on. He fired a few dangerous shots on net in the first. But he make a key error, turning over the puck in the n-zone, leading to a breakaway and Winnipeg’s fifth goal.

Mattias Ekholm, 4. Some solid play, some iffy play too. He charged up ice and almost fired in a goal late in the second, but a few too many major mistakes on defence.

Evan Bouchard, 8. He had a whale of a game, leading the team in ice time with 24:18. Three assist night. He unleashed the Bouch Bomb to ignite Edmonton’s first goal scoring sequence. He again unleashed the Bomb to help set up Edmonton’s fifth goal. Generally held his own on defence and showed a bit of snarl as well.

Brett Kulak, 3. Iffy game on defence. Four major mistakes on Grade A shots against at even strength. He drew an early penalty and the Oil cashed in. He lost a battle in the corner off a face off, the first deep cut in the Sequence of Pain on Winnipeg’s second goal. He lost a battle in the n-zone, the first major mistake on Winnipeg’s third goal. He made a few strong offensive plays in the third.

Vincent Desharnais, 4. Winnipeg’s second goal appeared to deflect in off of him and maybe one or two others. He got caught out on a dangerous Winnipeg rush in the second, but then sent in McDavid on a two-on-one.

Philip Broberg, 6. Kept a clean sheet, no major mistakes on Grade A shots against. He took a cross-checking hit in the third to draw a penalty and fired his own Grade A shot on net off a McDavid feed. He also pinched hard to kick off a sequence where McD got a Grade A shot.

Jack Campbell, 3. This game was Cambelltrons, though Winnipeg’s many goals were hardly on Campbell. He had some bad puck luck, but needed to make a few more saves. He made a stop on the first shot of the game, a Grade B scoring chance shot, another good sign. He next staved off a power play harpoon from Nino Neiderreiter, then an even more dangerous slot snipe from Kyle Connor. He then got beat by two point shots, one of them tipped in from the crease area, the other heavily screened and appearing to deflect off an Oiler or two or three in the high slot. He came out strong early in the second, stopping a dangerous rebound shot. Wheeler took the stick out of his hands on obvious goalie interference, but Campbell was still able to stop a harpoon from Scheifele. He blew it on an outside shot on Winnipeg’s fourth goal, going down too early, then failed to stop the breakaway on Winnipeg’s fifth goal. He let in Winnipeg’s back-breaker of its six goal, a point shot through a high slot screen. At that point Campbell had let in six goals on 13 Grade A shots, about two more goals than expected from that kind of barrage. He made a solid poke check stop half-way through the third.