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Edmonton Oilers deliver a statement performance in a 2-0 shutout of L.A.: Cult of Hockey Player Grade

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Goalie Stuart Skinner (74) of the Edmonton Oilers, makes a second period stop against the Los Angles Kings at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 30, 2023. Photo by Shaughn Butts-Postmedia Photo by Shaughn Butts /Shaughn Butts
The Edmonton Oilers turned in a hard, grinding, effective effort against the rival L.A. Kings on the way to the club’s 1st shutout of the season.

The game’s 1st Star was Stuart Skinner, who absolutely sparkled with 43 saves. He was exceptional. At the other end, markers from Evander Kane and Connor McDavid (his 300th career goal) was all the Oilers needed.

The regulation win pulls Edmonton into 2nd place, one ahead of L.A. in the Pacific (the Kings with a game in hand), and just 2 points back of Vegas for the conference lead. The Golden Knights lost to San Jose 4-3 in OT, earning a single point.

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Here is the tale of the tape…

Cult of Hockey Player Grades

STUART SKINNER. 10. The biggest game in Stuart Skinner’s young career and he nailed it. 43 stops for the club’s 1st shutout of the season. Skinner made a point-blank stop on Kaliyev early in the 1st. A fine right pad stuff on Byfield. A terrific glove save on Kempe who had split the D in the 2nd and darted in with a dangerous deke. Confidently managed a Byfield back-hand. Erased a turnover with a great save off Kupari. He finished off the 2nd by stoning Lizotte with his glove on a breakaway. Big 3rd period stop off Kempe’s stick on the PP. Needed to be sharp on a Byfield deflection in front. Slammed the door shut down the stretch including a terrific toe save on Gavrikov late. His 10 wins in March sets a franchise record. Named the game’s 1st Star. We do not hand out “transcendent” grades lightly at The Cult of Hockey. But the quality of Skinner’s work multiplied by the significance of the game in the standings adds up to a “10”. And if you remember back to the circumstances of last year…one assumes Skinner will not get farmed out to Bakersfield after this shutout.

CONNOR McDAVID. 7. Whistled for an early boarding call on Mikey Anderson but his mates killed it off. Anderson did not return. An uncharacteristic turnover in his own zone in the 1st led to a chance against. Set up Hyman for a 2nd Period one-timer. Then, a takeaway in his own zone on the PK…McDavid sprinting up the ice (beating 2 Kings along the way), a flurry of stickhandles and finally a sharp shot low stick to make it 2-0. It was his 61st of McDavid’s season, the 300th of his brilliant career. Slick feed from behind the net but Nugent-Hopkins could not finish the one-timer. 54% in the circle. The game ‘s 2nd star. The 1st player in NHL history to have five point streaks of 10 games or more in a season.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 7. Tough play at his own blueline to clear the zone on the 1st period PK. Sweet pass to Draisaitl for a PP one timer. Just missed cashing in on a rebound of a Bouchard shot in the 3rd. One-timer off a McDavid behind-the-net pass in the 3rd. Led the team in 5v5 CF at 22-13, 63%.

ZACH HYMAN. 6. Could not bury a one-timer in the 2nd off a McDavid feed. 5 shots. Played an honest, heavy game.

DARNELL NURSE. 8. Darnell Nurse’s finest defensive effort of the season. Repeatedly used his speed to win races and his size to win battles. Nurse stood up Kempe in the neutral zone early on. An excellent defensive play on a driving Kopitar in the 1st. Another fine effort against Arvidsson in the 2nd. And expertly headed off a Moore net drive a few shifts later. Ended the night with 3 shots, 2 hits, 2 blocks in 23:32. Flat out excellent, shift-in and shift-out, and the Kings’ best.

CODY CECI. 7. Nice setup for a dangerous Foegele chance in the 1st. Solid play on Byfield who was driving the Oilers net in the 2nd. Failed to get a puck deep at the O-line, allowing the Kings to run it back and get a shot against. A 3rd Period wraparound attempt. Solid. His game has improved noticeably over the last half dozen outings.

LEON DRAISAITL. 8. Smart stick on a 1st period PK. Neutral zone steal. Buried Doughty with a heavy check into the wall. Then put Gavrikov right on his pants with a thudding check. And to close out the period, Leon slung a no-look, spin-around backhand to Evander Kane in the slot who buried it for the 1-0. What a play! That was 29’s 70th helper of the year. Was stoned by a great pad on a Power Play one-timer in the 2nd. Sent a seeing-eye pass across the crease to a hard-charging Ekholm, to draw a late 2nd frame PP. A tidy pass across to Kane for a 3rd period opportunity. Led all Oilers in TOI at 23:45. Has really hit his stride.

EVANDER KANE. 8. Came out aggressive from the first shift, landing 7 (!) hits just in the first 20 minutes. His thump on Roy along the wall was particularly memorable. Took a slick back-hand feed from Draisaitl in the high slot and 1-timed it home high for the 1-0. Stopped on an Oilers 2-man break in the 2nd. Finished with 8 hits, 5 shots. Looked like he was on a mission. His goal proved to be the game winner. Played 20:25 and I thought he was the Oilers best Forward. That two excellent games back-to-back, now.

KAILER YAMAMOTO. 7. Gained the O-zone with speed then fed Draisaitl, earning an assist on the 1-0. Solid hit on Doughty in the 3rd. A highly effective 2:02 short-handed.

MATTIAS EKHOLM. 8. Blocked shot on a 1st Period PK. A 2nd Period stretch pass sprung Ryan and Kane on a clear break. Did not give an inch to Moore who would have had a chance in front. 2 hits, 3 blocks, 2 takeaways. Cleared the slot while flat on the ice, late. Just rock solid.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 7. An icing led to 3 Kings shots against after the ensuing D-zone faceoff. But it was one of very few off-moments for the young man tonight. Fired one off the post late in the 2nd on the PP. Could not cash in on an excellent 3rd Period shot. As physical as I have seen him play…ever. Credited with 4 hits.

NICK BJUGSTAD. 4. Dinged the post in the 1st after Doughty’s stick exploded beside his own net. Nabbed for a 3rd Period trip. Just 23 on faceoffs and crushed in shot shares 5v5 (9-15, 38%).

WARREN FOEGELE. 5. A good chance in the 1st off a Ceci pass. Ticked the post off a nice pass from Janmark. 2 shots.

MATTIAS JANMARK. 6. A wraparound attempt in the opening frame. Set up Foegele for a 2nd Period chance. His aggressive forecheck on the PK helped create the McDavid breakaway opportunity. No assist but the goa does not get scored without him.

BRETT KULAK. 6. Drew a 2nd Period PP. Took an interference call in the 2nd. High Dangers 4-1 with him on 5v5.

VINCENT DESHARNAIS. 6. Pretty iffy cross-check call in the 2nd. 2 hits, 2 blocks. High dangers 5v5 4-1.

DEREK RYAN. 5. Blocked shot on a 1st period PK. He and Kane teamed up with a net drive in the 2nd. 67% on draws.

KLIM KOSTIN. 5. Wraparound attempt in the 2nd, then buried Doughty with a heavy check.

PHILIP BROBERG. 5. Played just 4:05. Took shifts on both sides. 2 shots and a block.

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane are only the 2nd trio of teammates to score their 300th career goals in the same season. Last time, it was Clarke, Barber and MacLeish for the Flyers in 1981.

The Oilers are now 44-23-9, 97 points. They host Anaheim Saturday.

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Pressure mounts on both sides as Stars and Golden Knights prepare for Game 6 – Sportsnet.ca

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May 28, 2023

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) stands with his team during open net at the end of the third period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars, Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill/AP)

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IIHF Hockey: Canada downs Germany 5-2 – CTV News

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May 28, 2023

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TAMPERE, Finland –

Samuel Blais scored two goals to rally Canada to a 5-2 victory over Germany in the final of the ice hockey world championship on Sunday.

It’s a record 28th world title for Canada, and its second in three years. Russia has 27 while Germany has never won the trophy.

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Blais netted with a backhand 4:51 into the final period for a 3-2 lead for Canada, which was playing in its fourth straight final.

Lawson Crouse, Tylor Toffoli and Scott Laughton also scored for Canada, Peyton Krebs had two assists and goaltender Samuel Montembeault stopped 21 shots.

Toffoli stretched the lead to 4-2 from the left circle with 8:09 remaining and Laughton made it 5-2 with an empty net goal.

Canada had to come back twice in the final.

John Peterka wristed a shot past Montembeault from the left circle 7:44 into the game. It was the sixth goal for the Buffalo Sabres forward at the tournament.

Blais was fed by Krebs to beat goaltender Mathias Niederberger and tie it 1-1 at 10:47.

Daniel Fischbuch put the Germans ahead again with a one-timer with 6:13 to go in the middle period.

Crouse equalized on a power play with 2:32 remaining in the frame.

It was the first medal for Germany since 1953 when it was second behind Sweden.

The two previously met just once in the final with Canada winning 6-1 in 1930.

LATVIA GETS BRONZE

Defenseman Kristian Rubins scored his second goal 1:22 into overtime to lead Latvia to a 4-3 victory over the United States and earn a bronze medal earlier Sunday.

It’s the first top-three finish for Latvia at the tournament. Its previous best was a seventh place it managed three times.

The U.S. lost in the bronze medal game for the second straight year. The U.S. team was cruising through the tournament with eight straight wins until it was defeated by Germany in the semifinal 4-3 in overtime.

Rubins rallied Latvia with his first with 5:39 to go in the final period to tie the game at 3 to force overtime.

Roberts Bukarts and Janis Jaks also scored for Latvia.

Rocco Grimaldi scored twice for the U.S. in the opening period to negate Latvia’s 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

Matt Coronato had put the U.S. 3-2 ahead 6:19 into the final period.

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Hockey: Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey engaged

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May 27, 2023

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Consider celebrated hockey players Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey teammates for life.

The Team Canada stars have announced their engagement on social media, with a photo on Poulin’s verified Instagram account showing the smiling couple on a beach as Stacey brandishes a ring on her right hand.

The accompanying caption is decorated with heart and ring emojis and declares: “She said OUI.”

Fellow Olympic hockey players Brianne Jenner, Jill Saulnier, Natalie Spooner, Rebecca Johnston and Cheryl Pounder were among those to offer congratulations from their verified Instagram accounts.

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Poulin, the 32-year-old team captain, and 29-year-old Stacey were among the Canadian athletes to capture silver at the recent IIHF Women’s World Championship.

They also played together on Team Canada to win gold at the Beijing Games in 2022 and silver at the PyeongChang Games in 2018.

Poulin also represented Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games.

“So … this happened,” Poulin says on the Instagram post, dated Friday.

“Best question I ever asked …. She said OUI.”

“Couldn’t be happier for you both! What an exciting chapter,” champion figure skater Tessa Virtue replied from her verified account @tessavirtue17.

“Already started stretching for this dance floor!” Saulnier said from her account, dubbed jill.saulnier.

“Power couple,” Jenner posted from bjenner19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2023.

 

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