Player grades from Oilers' 5-3 win at Anaheim – Edmonton Journal

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Oilers 5, Ducks 3

Probably not too surprising that Edmonton Oilers struggled to get their act together for a goodly chunk of Friday night’s game at Anaheim. After all, the Oil were playing just their second game in 13 days and their first in quite some while without the wind of a long win streak at their back. Moreover, coach Kris Knoblauch had chosen this juncture to completely shuffle his defence pairings, and it showed at times in the form of hesitancy and missed assignments.

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3 times the Oilers fell behind by a goal, and it could have been worse without the strong work of netminder Calvin Pickard. But after one mid-game adjustment — the reunion of the ace pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard — and what appeared to be a team-wide wake-up call, the squad gradually gained the upper hand over the pesky Ducks, sealing the deal with 3 goals over the final 12 minutes to produce a 5-3 win.

Edmonton had the statistical edge, outshooting their hosts 32-27 with a 62-43 advantage in attempts. By our analysis at the Cult of Hockey, the Oilers had 22 Grade A shots to 14 by Anaheim, though in the most dangerous subset of 5-alarm chances it was 9-8 Ducks (running count).

Evander Kane was the scoring hero with 3 goals, achieving the rare feat of topping Wayne Gretzky to a club mark.

Player grades

#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. A little bit lost in the shuffle with just 18:45 ice time, 5th among Oilers defenders, but he got a lot done. Most important were the 2 splendid defensive plays he made to foil potential goals, both in the middle frame. The first was an emergency stop on Bo Groulx who had beaten Kulak to waltz in alone; the other when he prevented Sam Carrick’s wraparound attempt with Pickard out of the play. Otherwise the puck was generally headed north on Bouch’s watch, with the Oilers holding a 14-7 advantage in shots during his 16 minutes of 5v5 play. Chipped in an assist on the game winning powerplay goal. His only downbeat was a high-sticking penalty which resulted in the 3-2 goal early in the third. Contributions to Grade A shots: Even Strength +2/-1; Special Teams +2/-1.

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#5 Cody Ceci, 6. It was a tale of 2 partners for Ceci, whose early pairing with Ekholm had its issues, especially against speed. But when he was reassigned with Kulak mid-game the new pairing was excellent, not yielding a single Anaheim shot attempt in nearly 9 minutes together. Showed his veteran savvy in the late going when he won a race to an icing against a faster opponent with crafty positioning coupled with a hard skate on his own part. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-0.

#10 Derek Ryan, 6. The only Oiler with single digit minutes, but got a fair bit done in his 8:55 with 2 shots, a hit, a block, and 4/6=67% on the faceoff dot. Was out there in the late going with the Oilers defending a 1-goal lead against 6 attackers, and rewarded that trust with a safe clearance of the puck into a good spot for Kane to race onto it. That ultimately earned him an assist. GAS: +2/-0; ST +0/-0.

#13 Mattias Janmark, 4. A rare tough night on the penalty kill, where he and Brown were both beaten for a pair of 5-alarm shots, the second of which found twine for the 3-2. Had a fine chance of his own but his backhand shot caught the outside of the post. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-2.

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#14 Mattias Ekholm, 4. An off-night for the reliable Swede, who for a change started more fires than he extinguished.  He was burned for a number of high grade scoring chances by wide speed, by lost battles, or by poor positioning. Thankfully Pickard (or Bouchard) had his back and no goals resulted. Drew the penalty that led to the game winner. Somehow emerged from it all with a +2 on the night. GAS: ES +2/-5; ST +0/-0.

#18 Zach Hyman, 7. Like many teammates he took a while to get into the game, but came on strong in its later stages. Absolutely robbed by Lukas Dostal’s very first stop after entering the game in relief of starter John Gibson after 40 minutes. Made no mistake 3 minutes later when he tapped home McDavid’s great pass from the doorstep to tie the count at 3-3, a major turning point. GAS: ES +7/-0; ST +0/-0.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Played big minutes with Desharnais on the lone pairing that survived the whole game, with Nurse’s 22:47 leading the Oilers on the night. Also led the defence corps with 3 hits and 3 blocked shots, 2 of the latter of type “courageous” that resulted in the big man limping to the bench. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST: +0/-0.

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#27 Brett Kulak, 7. A very strong night overall with 2 different partners. Spectacular 5v5 shot shares of +25/-5 in shot attempts, +14/-3 in shots on goal in 16½ effective minutes. Did get burned by Groulx’s terrific rush, but Bouchard made a splendid stick check to negate the threat. Made a fine play on the 2-2, stopping a rush at the Edmonton blueline and quickly headmanning the puck to Draisaitl who fed Kane for the snipe. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +0/-0.

#28 Connor Brown, 4. As with his partner Janmark, had a tough night on the PK where he was beaten on a pair of 5-alarm chances, the second resulting in the 3-2. Also had an o-zone turnover leading to a 5-alarm fire the other way. Did chip in on some decent looks offensively, but with usual results. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST +0/-2.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. Had an effective night on a new line with Kane and Perry that gave the Ducks fits. His lovely backhand feed on the counterattack set up Kane for the 2-2. Scored the game winner himself with a powerplay 1-timer that fluttered over Dostal to break a 3-3 tie with 10 minutes left. 4 shots on net, 14/22=64% on the faceoff dot. GAS: ES +4/-2; ST +4/-0.

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#30 Calvin Pickard, 7. Did his best work in the first period, when he was left to his own devices on several different occasions and delivered a number of fine stops. Had a tough stretch mid-game when he allowed 3 goals on 5 shots over a 25-minute span, but bounced back hard with a pair of enormous stops within 30 seconds of allowing the 3-2. That kept his mates in the game just long enough for them to take charge the rest of the way. His 5th consecutive win. 27 shots, 24 saves, .889 save percentage.

#37 Warren Foegele, 4. A quiet game back home on the third line. Screened his goalie on the 1-0; worse, the shot deflected off his shinpad on its way in to the net. 0 shots on net. Drew a penalty. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-1.

#55 Dylan Holloway, 5. Made his presence felt with 2 shots on net and a team-high 4 hits. Had a splendid shift where he controlled the puck in traffic in Anaheim territory, then got open to rip a slapper off a McDavid feed that forced perhaps Gibson’s toughest save of the night. Otherwise his line with McLeod and Foegele spent much of their time chasing the game. GAS: ES +1/-0.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 4. Among the defensive culprits on the first 2 Ducks tallies, 1 on the penalty kill and the other at even strength. Didn’t have a lot going on offensively. 0 shots. Did make a fine defensive play in the late going, using his plus speed to advantage to shut down a threatening rush. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST +0/-1.

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#73 Vincent Desharnais, 4. Played a few ticks under 20 minutes with his new partner Nurse. Made a towering screen of his own goalie on the 1-0. Coughed up the puck on the 2-1. Delivered some strong defensive play as well with 3 blocked shots, notably thwarting Frank Vatrano’s late drive in a sequence that ended happily seconds later with Kane’s empty netter. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST +0/-1.

#90 Corey Perry, 7. Returned to his old haunts at Honda Center and immediately resumed his old habits of playing on the edges of legality. Likely got away with one when he slashed the goal stick out of Gibson’s hands as the goalie played the puck, then seconds later worked the puck to Kane who beat the distracted netminder for the 1-1. His first point as an Oiler, collected in decidedly Corey Perry fashion. Decoy on the 2-2. Excellent shot shares, including 2 drives off his own stick. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST +0/-0.

#91 Evander Kane, 9. Seemed inspired by his new linemate Perry, and delivered his best game in quite some time. Led both teams with 7 shots on net, converting 3 of them. Beat Gibson with a good short-side wrister from a low angle for the 1-1; then again through the 5-hole with a strong shot through traffic off the rush. Made a strong net drive that played a role in Hyman’s 3-3 tally, even as that didn’t show up on the scoresheet. Put the game away with 70 seconds to play by winning a race to a cleared puck and powering it into the empty net. All 4 of his contributions to Grade A shots resulted in an Edmonton goal on a 3-0-3, +4 night. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST +0/-0.

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#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Held off the scoresheet but not for lack of opportunity. Got stronger as the game went on. Played a major role in Edmonton’s decisive third-period powerplay that produced 4 Grade A shots in a minute. 2 of those shots came off RNH’s stick, the first resulting in a great glove grab by Dostal, the second ringing the iron. 9 shot attempts, 4  of them on goal. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +4/-0.

#97 Connor McDavid, 8. Another great game from the captain, though it took him a while to break through. Got a steady dose of the nasty Radko Gudas, against whom he played 15 of his 17 minutes at 5v5. With the Oilers spinning their wheels in the first, he landed a booming hit on Urho Vaakanainen in an attempt to rally the troops. Took an interference penalty late in the first that proved costly. But came on hard in the middle frame and harder still in the third, when he posted assists on the last 3 Oilers goals. The first, a great rush and pass to Hyman for the tap-in. The second, a patented cross-seam feed on the powerplay for Draisaitl to power home. The third, a terrific play in his own end to gain possession of the puck, then deliver it safely to Ryan who fed it ahead into the path of the onrushing Kane. Those scoring plays were just 3 of the whopping 12 Grade A shots to which McDavid contributed. Besides the penalty, his only downside was a poor night on the dot (3/12=25%). GAS: ES +9/-1; ST +3/-0.

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