It turned out to be the unlikeliest of Edmonton Oilers wins with the unlikeliest of heroes, Mikko Koskinen, who had been slumping in net, and Alex Chiasson in overtime, when he rarely plays.
The entire game seemed to be played in the Edmonton Oilers end. Wave after wave of big, fast and skilled green-sweatered Dallas Stars kept up relentless pressure, getting the best of every single Oilers line and defence pairing.
For long stretches it seemed like Dallas beat Edmonton to every puck and won every 50/50 battle.
But through the brilliant goaltending of Mikko Koskinen, puck luck and an amazing power play snipe from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers were able tie the Stars one-to-one in regulation time.
This came even as Dallas outchanced Edmonton 16 to three on Grade A chances (running count) in the first 60 minutes.
In overtime, though, Edmonton’s skill took over, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl all having their moments, before Alex Chiasson seized a loose puck, moved into the slot and fired home a beauty of a winning goal.
Connor McDavid, 5. The Stars were able to shut him down at even strength. He drew a penalty off Corey Perry half-way through the second, so bonus points for that. He tried to force things to the net on the five-on-three power play instead of working the puck to big gun Draisaitl for his one-timer. He finally got going in overtime, getting two Grade A shots on net.
Tyler Ennis, 3. He and McDavid got little done. He accidentally hacked Jamie Benn in the face early in the third but avoided a penalty. A moment later he got off his first and only Grade A shot of the game off a McDavid feed.
Josh Archibald, 7. Part of a strong penalty kill effort. Earned his keep with that alone in that 5:54 of ice time shorthanded.
Leon Draisaitl, 5. The DYN-amite Line failed to ignite anything much, which was a major part of the Edmonton’s lacklustre performance. The line had its first extended zone time early in the second but Draisaitl ended the sequence taking a slashing penalty. Finally, six minutes into the second, he drilled a fine pass to Alex Chiasson for a dangerous one-timer, just Edmonton’s second chance of the game at that point vs ten for the Stars. He did some good work on the PK as well, bumping his grade up a full mark. In OT, he fired a sweet backhand cross-seam for a McDavid Grade A chance. He and McDavid led the Oil with four shots each.
Kailer Yamamoto, 4. He got caught out a couple of times early in the game on Grade a chances against. Buzzed, buzzed, buzzed, but the Stars swatted him away like a fly.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 8. Fired home a seeing-eye power play shot off the post from the circle in the second to open scoring. In overtime, he moved in sharply to the slot, toe-dragging one man, then getting hauled down on for a penalty as he toe-dragged another one, setting up McDavid for a one timer in the same motion. He was another PK ace for Edmonton.
Riley Sheahan, 6. He and his forward partner Josh Archibald did strong early work on two big first period penalty kills, when the Stars were pressing relentlessly. He took 15 faceoffs and did not win even one of them. He was out 5:42 on the PK.
Zack Kassian, 6. Huge momentum changer in this one. He tried to the wake up the slumbering Oilers in the second, laying a trashing, body-smashing hit on Stephen Johns of the Stars, and a moment later Edmonton got off a great slot shot and drew a penalty, where RNH scored. Kass gets some of the credit for that.
Andreas Athanasiou, 3. He’s not yet found his game as an Oiler. He charged out of the penalty box and got off a Grade B scoring chance shot to end the second period. He took a second penalty, an ill-advised trip, early in the third period, with Dallas scoring to tie the game. He flashed down the wing in the third for another Grade B scoring chance shot.
Alex Chiasson, 6. Hit the post on a slot shot in the second. His overtime winner was something he’ll remember a long time, I suspect.
James Neal, 5. Looked solid, moving well and playing hard.
Jujhar Khaira, 4. He got his stick in and took the game’s first penalty, then later in the first he made a classic Khaira d-zone turnover setting up Alexander Radulov for a dangerous slot shot. Not unexpected. It’s too much for Khaira to play centre under this system. He did win a neutral zone battle that kicked off a great shot for Darnell Nurse, Edmonton’s only Grade A chance in the first period. He was also strong on the PK.
Darnell Nurse, 4. He came out moving slow like most of the Oilers, but certainly moved fast into the slot to get off a wicked Grade A shot off a James Neal pass late in the first. I’m not loving Nurse on the power play, which is news to no one. He certainly wasn’t the right attacker to have out on the second period five-on-three, which yielded not one Grade A chance for the Oilers. But that’s on the coach, not on Nurse. He was charged with five giveaways overall. He played 30:50 this game, which is too much. Get Ethan Bear on that power play until Oscar Klefbom returns, right? Anybody?
Ethan Bear, 4. He got beat in a skate race down the wing by Gurianov for the first Dallas Grade A chance of the game, and that play set the tone for the entire games, it seems. He wasn’t sharp on a few other Grade A chances early on either, but did well on the PK.
Caleb Jones, 5. He at least came out moving his feet, but not enough to get the puck moving in the right direction most shifts.
Adam Larsson, 7. He was again in beast mode this game. Some strong work by him and Kris Russell on the four crucial first and second period penalty kills, highlighted by him going low to take out the feet of Jamie Benn in the slot. He was given a ridiculous penalty late in the third on a punishing but legal hit.
Matt Benning, 4. He muffed on the puck in the second leading to a Grade A slot shot for the Stars. He, too, get his grade bumped up a full mark for a key clearance on that late and unjust Oilers penalty.
Kris Russell, 6. The attack dog of the Oil’s PK scratched, sprawled, darted, clawed and powered his way to four successive kills in the first two periods. He charged back in the second to wipe Corey Perry’s short-lived breakaway, which has got to earn any Oilers player major points.
Mikko Koskinen, 9. He was super solid in the nets. Brilliant. He also had some help from his posts on two occasions. All of it combined to give the Oilers a chance in this game. He got off to a promising start with a toe save on 20 goal-scorer Denis Gurianov in the first minute, then stopped Corey Perry on a tight shot a moment later. Next he made a huge save, closing the pads on Alex Radulov’s wicked slot chance after a Khaira turnover. The sharp play continued and by the middle of the second period, the Stars looked a bit spooked and started to shoot wide, perhaps trying too hard to make the perfect shot. He was finally beat on the 33rd shot off the game, a power play one timer by John Klingberg. He wasn’t called on OT, thankfully. Great bounce back game for Kosk, who has been struggling since mid-December.
At the Cult
McCURDY: James Neal back into the line-up
LEAVINS: Player grades as Draisaitl dominates Preds again
