Player grades: Edmonton Oilers' dynamic duo leads the charge in shootout squeaker vs. Kings – Edmonton Journal

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Kings 3, Oilers “4” (SO)

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In a late-season match-up with a whole lot on the line, both the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings delivered the goods in a pulsating hockey game at Rogers Place. The contest went the full limit before Edmonton’s stars got the job done in the shootout, enabling the home team to eke out a 4-3 victory.

After both had already scored in regulation time, Oilers superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid did the same in the skills competition at night’s end. At the other end of the ice, Mikko Koskinen turned aside 38 shots over 65 minutes, then was perfect in the shootout including a dandy pad stop on Kings captain Anze Kopitar to seal the deal.

It was a back and forth affair, with all the scoring coming in the first 26 minutes as the Oilers trailed 1-0, then led 3-1… though not for long, as the visitors scored twice in 14 seconds to knot the count barely a minute after Edmonton had extended their lead. A controversial goaltender interference challenge went against the Oilers minutes later, and the scoreboard remained locked down at 3-3 even as the high-paced action continued right through 60 minutes, followed by a frenetic overtime period that featured not a single whistle.

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The Kings held a 41-33 advantage on the shot clock, though Edmonton had the better of Grade A shots to the tune of  (running count)

Player grades

#2 Duncan Keith, 5. His pairing with Bouchard got lit up for a pair of goals, though the younger man was more culpable on both. Deflected one shot off his own crossbar and another dangerously on his own goalie. Made a nice stretch pass in overtime to find McDavid with open ice.

#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Got the Oilers on the board with a great shot from the high slot that beat the screen and went bar down on Jonathan Quick in the Kings net. Made a couple of real solid defensive stops, and the couple times he got beat Koskinen came through with the save.

#10 Derek Ryan, 5. Not much going on offensively in the Oilers bottom 6 this night, though Ryan did chip in on the defensive side of the puck with a takeaway and a shot block. 0 shots.

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#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 7. A robust performance with a game-high 6 hits and an uncounted number of board battles and puck wins. His hard charges to the net front played a role on both the first and third Oilers goals, even as they were uncredited on the scoresheet. Appeared to have scored himself when yet a third net front battle saw the puck bounce in off his shinpad, but the play was successfully challenged for goaltender interference. Borderline call with a case to be made both ways, especially on a night the zebras “let them play” everywhere else on the ice surface. Let’s just say he didn’t exactly grab Talbot’s pad. Strong defensively with excellent shot shares.

#15 Josh Archibald, 4. Delivered 2 hard hits on his first shift but went out of position to land the second one, resulting in an undefended point shot from his man that produced the first goal. Ended the night -2 in just 7:56 of ice time with 0 shot attempts and 3 hits.

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#16 Derick Brassard, 4. He too was -2 in just 6:03 of ice time on a decidedly ineffective third line. Managed one dangerous shot off a Draisaitl setup in the midst of a line change. Made one emergency defensive play when he dropped deep into his own slot to get a piece of a dangerous shot.

#18 Zach Hyman, 7. Lots of heavy grinding in the o-zone, along the boards and in the low slot. Made a terrific play to set up Draisaitl for the 2-1. Victimized by a phantom penalty call to neutralize an Oilers PP.

#19 Mikko Koskinen, 8. His night got off to a most unpromising start when he was beaten through the 7-hole by an outside shot that caught a mid-air deflection in the slot. Bounced back with a fantastic save on a close range one-timer by Gabriel Vilardi and somehow contained the rebound with enemy snipers lurking. Gave up 2 in rapid succession in the middle frame, the first a slot shot that was again tipped by a teammate in the aftermath of a bad turnover, then a jam play in the blue paint after several mates lost battles in rapid succession. But he built a wall in front of his net after that, stopping the last 27 shots he faced, 17 of them in a tense third period which had a “next goal wins” vibe to it. Added a couple more tricky blocker stops in OT, and closed the night out by robbing Kopitar in the shootout. 41 saves, 38 saves, .927 save percentage.

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#22 Tyson Barrie, 4. A tough night that saw the offensive blueliner produce not so much as a shot attempt at the good end, commit 4 official giveaways, and be victimized on the 3-3 goal when he was overwhelmed in a puck battle behind the net. But delivered an absolutely crucial defensive gem in the third period, clearing what looked to be a sure goal out of the blue paint. In retrospect, that play might have been worth two standings points.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Played 26:34, over 14 minutes of it head to head against LA’s Triple A line of Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafollo, with the Oilers winning that match-up by 2 goals to 0. No points, though he had an assist taken back when McDavid’s 3-1 goal was ruled to be unassisted because it bounced in off Iafollo. 7 shot attempts, 3 on goal, 2 hits, and several won battles along the way. Did have a few defensive issues including 3 shots (by my count) that deflected off of him and on goal. Oilers had a 17-12 edge in shots on his watch at 5v5.

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#27 Brett Kulak, 5. Made a key touch on Edmonton’s second goal to keep the play alive just inside the LA blue line, allowing Hyman and Draisaitl to go back to work and ultimately produce the goal on an extended possession. But lost a key battle in tight to his own net on the 3-3.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. A dominant performance. Owned the puck for much of the night and powered it to the net time and again. Involved in 10 Grade A shots by the Oilers, 5 of them off his own stick and 5 that set up teammates. Scored his 49th of the year finishing off Hyman’s pass, and took several cracks at #50. Drew a penalty when he forced the peerless Kopitar to grab him on one cut to the net. An unlucky victim on the second LA goal when tried to clean up Bouchard’s turnover but wound up tipping Quinton Byfield’s drive that fooled Koskinen. 11 shot attempts, 6 of them on goal, and 14/26=54% on the dot. Snapped home a beauty in the first round of the shootout that sent the Oilers on their way.

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#37 Warren Foegele, 5. Played a fairly good game without the puck, recording 4 hits and 2 takeaways. Trouble was, his line was without the puck for most of the night, as the Oilers were outshot 7-2 during his 11 minutes. He and both linemates ended up with 0 shots on net. Also made a bad line change that played a role in an odd-man rush. Should have drawn a penalty when he took a shot to the noggin while chasing a puck that was ten feet away, but both refs slept right through it.

#56 Kailer Yamamoto, 6. Both of his shots were of type Grade A, a wraparound early in the game and a point-blank rebound drive in the late stages. Couldn’t solve Quick with either. Strong shot metrics and zero problems at the defensive end.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 4. His line had its struggles, in no small part because McLeod had a fairly ineffective night. 0 shots, 0 hits, 2 giveaways, 0/3=0% on the dot. Did get a couple shifts in overtime and nearly made it count with a fine rush but an off-target shot.

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#75 Evan Bouchard, 4. Good shot metrics but bad goal outcomes, with a -2 on the night. Played a role in both, tipping Alex Edler’s outside shot that ultimately found a hole. Then on the 3-2, he coughed the puck up from the corner right into his own slot while under pressure from a heavy Kings forecheck. Did muster 8 shot attempts (3 on goal) and 2 takeaways.

#91 Evander Kane, 6. Spent much of the night barging around in the offensive zone, producing shot attempts and hits in equal number (5 of each). Made a key contribution on the first Oilers goal with a hard forecheck that led to a change of possession. Took a cross-cehcking penalty i nthe third but his mates killed it off.

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 4. A tough night at the office, as he and his linemates Brassard and Archibald were chasing the game for the most part. Oilers were outshot 10-3 and outscored 2-0 during his time at 5v5, with Nuge himself losing a battle in the blue paint on the 3-3. Had 0 shots on net, 4 giveaways. Did his best work on the penalty kill, and had his moments in the 3v3 overtime as well.

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#97 Connor McDavid, 8. Fired a game-high 8 shots on net and struck paydirt when his centring pass took a friendly bounce of Iafollo’s stick. Earned a primary assist on Ceci’s goal with a pass into the slot, and appeared to earn another with a brilliant effort on the Puljujarvi tally that got wiped off the highlight reels to “goalie interference”. Had all 3 Edmonton shots in the overtime period and was unlucky not to cash. But made short work of Quick in the shootout with a dazzling deke to the backhand that was breathtaking in its simplicity.

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