Oilers 5, Senators 2
In theory Ottawa Senators had a rest advantage over their guests on Tuesday, but in reality their opponents had a burr in their saddle after a sorry effort the night before. Edmonton Oilers needed a bounceback effort and they got one, pounding home 3 goals in the first period and cruising to a 5-2 win.
Edmonton’s big three of first star Connor McDavid, second star Leon Draisaitl and third star Evan Bouchard combined to score 4 goals and 9 points in the first 25 minutes as the Oilers built a 4-1 lead. 3 points apiece with each man sporting a +3 to also co-lead the team in that department.
Stu Skinner took care of the rest, putting out a few fires along the way to ensure the Sens never got within 3 goals the rest of the way. One downer was an apparent injury that resulted in Zach Hyman missing the third period.
It was a fairly even game by territorial play. Ottawa held a 59-51 advantage in shot attempts, but Edmonton led in shots on goal by 31-29. Siimilarly, the Cult of Hockey‘s video analysis had the Senators leading Grade A shots by 13-10, but the Oilers in 5-alarm chances by 6-4 (running count).
Player grades
#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. Opened the scoring with a brilliant end-to-end rush, beating Ottawa defender Thomas Chabot one-on-one with a superb inside move before depositing a perfectly placed shot in the top corner behind Linus Ullmark. Expect to see that one on Plays of the Month/Year. Earned a couple of assists with more routine plays to finish the first period with 3 points. Nearly scored again late in the second when he started, then joined a rush with McDavid and made a sharp redirection from the doorstep that forced one of Ullmark’s best stops. Downgraded by a point due to some sloppy defensive work on several occasions, even as Skinner repeatedly had his back. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3
#10 Derek Ryan, 6. Made a splendid play on the 5-1, first winning a battle to retain possession, then sending a perfectly weighted shot-pass onto the tape of RNH for the redirection. Had a very tidy night on the faceoff dot with 10/13=77%. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0.
#13 Mattias Janmark, 6. Played sound defensive hockey, yielding nothing. Has really gotten his skating legs going these days. A bonus point for his excellent work on the penalty kill, which unit killed off 2 Ottawa chances yielding just 1 shot on net. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.
#14 Mattias Ekholm, 6. Good bounceback from a rare off-night in Montreal. Very strong shot shares (Corsi of +26/-13 at 5v5) though his pairing with Bouchard did have a few iffy moments defensively. 9 shot attempts to lead the team. Good on the PK. GAS: ES +1/-4; ST 0.
#18 Zach Hyman, 5. Played his 600th career game, primarily on a second line with RNH and J.Skinner that had some issues defensively with Hyman himself among the culprits on the 1-1. Hammered a dangerous one-timer on net on the powerplay, but Ullmark had the answer. For the second game in a row took a wicked hit away from the puck, and this one left a mark. Did not return for the third period and his status is unknown. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +1/-0.
#19 Adam Henrique, 6. Took a marginal penalty early in the second, but emerged from the penalty box to contribute perhaps his best shift of the season, twice sending Draisaitl and McDavid in on an odd-man rush. After the first of those chances failed, Henrique disrupted the subsequent Ottawa breakout, breaking up a pass in the neutral zone, winning the scrambled puck, absorbing some punishment, but ultimately bumping the disc ahead to McDavid for the quick strike and a well-deserved assist. Also landed the “hit of the game” when he drilled the pestiferous Ridley Greig with a solid dart. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.
#24 Travis Dermott, 5. Contributed 12:48 to the rotating cast of depth defenders, playing 4½ minutes with each of J.Brown and Emberson. Got clobbered by shot shares (Corsi +4/-12, shots a more reasonable +3/-5) but made no significant defensive errors. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.
#27 Brett Kulak, 6. Continues to climb the depth chart, currently filling the #3 role in the absence of his sometimes partner Darnell Nurse. In this game he was #1 in ice time, logging 23:06 in a team-high 28 shifts. That’s his tenth game north of 20 minutes in the last 13. Played exactly 7:13 with each of Stecher and Emberson and another 3:33 with J.Brown, not exactly Murderers’ Row. Largely held the fort with a 10-12 shot share and 2-1 goal share, earning an assist along the way. Also playing an elevated role (on the improving penalty kill. GAS: ES +1/-3; ST 0.
#28 Connor Brown, 6. Similar to Janmark, 14 honest minutes of low-event hockey, with a bonus point for his strong work on the penalty kill where he played 1:57 to lead all forwards. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 7. Reunited with McDavid in a bid to end Edmonton’s mini losing streak, and it worked. Found the scoresheet repeatedly with a pair of assists from the perimeter, then a gorgeous breakaway goal featuring a nifty deke that put Edmonton firmly in control at 4-1. Drew a penalty that led to Edmonton’s powerplay goal. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST +1/-0.
#44 Josh Brown, 5. 11 quiet minutes and 15 loud seconds in which he exchanged bombs with fellow heavyweight Zack MacEwan. Oilers enjoyed a 6-4 edge on the shot clock during his 5v5 time. Did allow a shot tip on Ottawa’s late consolation goal, though his grade is not dinged for that given the puck appeared to be well over the crossbar at the time it was deflected. Blocked 4 shots to co-lead the Oilers. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#49 Ty Emberson, 6. Played 16:42, during which the puck spent altogether too much time in Edmonton territory (Corsi of +5/-21). Actual shot shares were a more palatable +5/-9, in part because Emberson himself blocked 4 shots. Posted crooked numbers in all the “defensive stats” columns in the Event Summary, with 4 hits and 2 takeaways along with those 4 blocks, each of which led the club. So too did his 2:06 on the PK, for which he gets a similar +1 bonus as the other major PKers. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#51 Troy Stecher, 4. Battled hard though he had some issues inside his own zone, including getting beat by a centring pass on the 1-1. Ended the night -2, not easily done in a 5-2 win. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#53 Jeff Skinner, 5. Another decent effort, but nothing to show for it, his eighth consecutive game without a point. A couple of shots and 3 hits to lead the forwards. His weak defensive coverage and awareness was another adventure, and appears to be a feature not a big with this player. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST 0.
#74 Stu Skinner, 7. Delivered a strong game between the pipes and was a big part of the win. Made a number of key stops, especially during a couple of stretches (mid second period, early third) when Edmonton’s defensive intensity waned. The biggest was likely when he stuffed Drake Batherson on a breakaway in the early minutes of the final frame. Had little chance on the goals, a one-timer by Tim Stutzle from the slot and that high deflection by Josh Norris late in the third. He’s not had much success closing out games, though he responded to the late insult by making a great stop during the last-minute-of-play announcement to hold the Senators under 3. 29 shots, 27 saves, .931 save percentage.
#90 Corey Perry, 4. Oilers were chasing the game on his shifts, with Corsi of +3/-10 and shots of +1/-4 during his 9 minutes at evens. Unable to defend the point shot that resulted in the 5-2. Back to backs appear to be tough on the 39-year-old, hardly a surprise. Perhaps Tuesday’s addition of Kasperi Kapanen via waivers will allow him a breather during busy stretches like this. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#92 Vasily Podkolzin, 7. Given the chance of a lifetime to play first-line minutes with McDavid and Draisaitl and delivered the goods. Played 16:04, his highest such figure in over 2 calendar years. Pounded the boards, won pucks, created screens, generally caused a disturbance. Earned a pair of assists, his first multi-point game as an Oiler. The second of these was an outside shot he fired into Ullmark’s pads, creating a rebound that McDavid jammed home to put the Oilers back in front just 35 seconds after the Sens had tied the score. A couple of hits, a couple of nice passes, and excellent shot shares (17-9 Corsi, 11-5 shots). He wasn’t the primary driver of that but he did contribute. Drew a penalty. Also chipped in 1:29 on the PK. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. With McDavid and Draisaitl reunited, he defaulted to the 2C role. That trio got mashed, with the Senators getting a shot per minute during Nuge’s even-strength time. He did however have a good showing on the PK, at least the first one (he was in the box for the second). He also found the scoresheet with just his second goal of the season, starting the play in his own end of the ice and winning the race up-ice to convert Ryan’s shot-pass at the doorstep. Played 20:53 in a whopping 28 shifts. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.
#97 Connor McDavid, 8. Bounced back hard from a tough night in Montreal in which his only shot on goal was actually a pass that caromed off a Habs defender and on net. Not shy to shoot the puck on this night, and was rewarded with a pair of first-period goals. After depositing a Podkolzin rebound to restore the lead, his second goal was a seeing eye laser through a screen during an Edmonton 5-on-3 that increased the advantage to 3-1 just before the first Zamboni and ultimately stood up as the game winner. Added a beauty assist on Draisaitl’s tally in the second with a great through pass that set the German in alone. Led Oilers forwards in ice time with 22:08, and the entire team in shots on goal with 5. GAS: ES +5/-3; ST +2/-0.
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