Ducks 6, Oilers 2
Edmonton Oilers played their first home game in 25 days on Tuesday with the hopes of turning the page on what had been a most unsatisfying road trip. Trouble is, home ice hasn’t exactly been the “friendly confines” of late either. It certainly +wasn’t on Tuesday, not for the home town team at least, who dropped a 6-2 decision to Anaheim Ducks for their fourth consecutive defeat at Rogers Place.
3-2 in the shootout to Detroit. 4-3 to Toronto. 5-4 to Colorado. Now 6-2 to Anaheim. Spot the pattern?
This one started brightly enough with strong first shifts from each of the four lines and some very promising sorties from Connor McDavid. The Oilers even opened the scoring on the powerplay midway through the first. But then the defensive lapses began in earnest. The visitors pounded home 4 goals before the period was over, sending Edmonton starter Calvin Pickard to the bench in favour of Stu Skinner. The rest of the game was essentially garbage time, with the visitors chipping in one more goal in each of the second and third before the Oilers notched a late consolation tally, again on the powerplay. But in the primary game state of 5v5, they got waxed by 6 goals to 0.
The Oil did hold a 34-27 advantage on the shot clock, the first time in 7 games they have outshot their opponents. That was, however, deceptive in that 16 of those shots came from defencemen and only 18 from forwards. The Ducks meanwhile got just 3 shots from their blueliners and 24 from forwards, including a couple of clear breakaways and several other dangerous looks. Our own counts at the Cult of Hockey tell the story in a different way; while Edmonton held a 15 to 12 advantage in Grade A shots, it was the Ducks who held a convincing 8-3 edge in the most dangerous, 5-alarm shots (running count).
Then there was the matter of Lukas Dostal having a much stronger performance in the Anaheim net than did either of Pickard or Skinner, which was part of the problem but by no means all of it. Simply put, the youthful Ducks were the superior squad on this night, and it wasn’t particularly close. Worth noting that game stars Mason McTavish, Jackson Lacombe and Cutter Gauthier are all under 25 years of age, as are other goal scorers Leo Carlsson and Sam Colangelo. Too often the Oilers looked old and slow against the talented youngsters.
Player grades
#2 Evan Bouchard, 5. A couple of decent moments, drawing an early penalty when he cruised into the slot to take a great Draisaitl pass, and ringing a late shot off the crossbar. Burned on a key sequence very late in the first when he and partner Kulak both got beaten due to some soft coverage behind the net, allowing a centring pass that resulted in the 4-1 goal just 12 seconds after the 3-1. Game was effectively over in that moment. 8 shot attempts, 3 on goal, and a secondary assist on McDavid’s powerplay goal. Contributions/mistakes on Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3/-1; Special Teams 0.
#13 Mattias Janmark, 4. Unable to contain first Cutter Gauthier, then Mason McTavish as they rushed up ice on what became the 2-1. Not big mistakes compared to those made behind him, but part of the problem all the same. Not a lot happening at the other end of the ice outside of one shot that he tipped on goal. GAS: +1/-1; ST 0.
#14 Mattias Ekholm, 5. The only defenceman to avoid a minus, but far from his usual robust self. His ice time was dialed way back to just 2:15 (3 shifts) in the third and a tick below 18 minutes on the night. 3 shots including a dangerous tip, and a secondary assist on Draisaitl’s powerplay tally. GAS: ES: +1/-1; ST +1/-0.
#18 Zach Hyman, 4. Hit the post on his best look. Took a high hit right in the beak from Anaheim ruffian Radko Gudas and was leaking thereafter, not that the stripes took notice. Held without a shot for just the fifth time this season, but the third time in the past 6 games. GAS: ES +3/-0, ST 0.
#19 Adam Henrique, 5. Fairly quiet night, especially in the offensive zone where his line didn’t generate a lot. 0 shots, though he did block 3 at the other end. 6/7=86% on the faceoff dot. Played 2:08 on an effective PK unit. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.
#22 Matt Savoie, 4. Not as bad a night as his boxcars of 0-0-0, -4 might suggest, but not exactly the home debut the local product was surely hoping for. Did show a flew flashes here and there including some very creative work with the puck on his stick, though nothing that quite clicked for a dangerous shot on goal never mind an actual goal. Alas, his line with Draisaitl and Arvidsson got lit up, even as Savoie himself wasn’t a major culprit beyond the 4-1 when he could have done more to put out the fire in front of his own net. Didn’t help that his on-ice save percentage was .500, mind. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#25 Darnell Nurse, 4. Returned to the line-up after 2 games on the shelf with a shoulder issue. Led the team with 23:35 TOI and looked good for stretches. But boxcars of 0-0-0, -3 tell their own tale of a night that didn’t go well. He was only significantly at fault on the 5-1 when his badly-timed pinch in the o-zone was punished, quickly and harshly. Was the physical leader with 8 hits. GAS: ES +2/-3; ST 0.
#27 Brett Kulak. 3. A forgettable night for the stalwart rearguard, starting with boxcars of 0-0-0, -4. That ugly minus figure was earned in the sense that Kulak was among the beaten defenders on all 4 of those goals. Particularly tough was the first period shift that saw an outside shot ricochet off a Duck in front, then Kulak’s skate and into the net. 12 seconds later, he and Bouchard were both guilty of some soft coverage behind the icing line and couldn’t contain the centring pass. 3 shots. GAS: ES +1/-6; ST 0.
#28 Connor Brown, 4. In the right spot a lot, but couldn’t get much done with the puck on his stick. Whiffed entirely on his best chance after McDavid set him up in the slot. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 4. Carried the torch offensively with a goal and a primary assist, both on the powerplay. Also had a hand in both penalties that led to them, drawing one himself while setting up Bouchard for a slot shot which also drew a call. Had a truly wretched time of things on the other side of the puck at 5v5. Anaheim’s first shot was a result of his poor pass back to the offensive blueline that resulted in a clearcut breakaway for Troy Terry. Pickard had his back that time, but after that Leon wasn’t so fortunate. Passed the puck directly to Leo Carlsson right in front of his net for the 1-1. Lost the faceoff on the 3-1. Got sucked out of position and lost his man on the 4-1. Then had a weak backcheck and again lost his man on the 5-1. Not often one sees boxcars of 1-1-2, -4 but here we are. GAS: ES +5/-6; ST +2/-0.
#30 Calvin Pickard, 3. Made a big stop on Terry’s breakaway early, but began leaking in goals in the back half of the first. Not much chance on the first and an unlucky bounce on the third, but he didn’t look great on either of 2 goals scored by first star Mason McTavish, especially the first of those which came from a very low angle where Pickard seemed to lose his net. Was outquicked by McTavish right in tight on the 4-1 which spelled the end to both the competitive part of the game and Pickard’s night. He stayed on the bench when the second period started. 11 shots, 7 saves, .636 save percentage.
#33 Viktor Arvidsson, 4. Was involved in a few Edmonton chances but nothing clicked, a depressingly familiar tale for this player. His line got worked. Unable to contain the outside shot that resulted in the 3-1. Hard to see past 0-0-0, -3 with just 1 shot on net. GAS: ES +4/-1; ST 0.
#36 John Klingberg, 5. Some nice moments with the puck, some adventures without it. His lack of straight ahead foot speed was very apparent on the 6-1. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.
#42 Kasperi Kapanen, 5. His “Three Wingers Line” with Podkolzin and Perry kept things simple and for the most part, tidy. Brought some physicality including a noteworthy sequence where all 3 men took the body in rapid succession on the forecheck. Moreover, they were 3 of the 4 Oilers (Ekholm the other) who managed to keep the puck out of the net. Busted his butt on the backcheck on at least 2 different occasions to help keep it out. 0 shots on goal, however. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.
#49 Ty Emberson, 3. Had a rough time of it in the first period, coughing the puck up under pressure on the 1-1, then screening his goalie on the 2-1. Watched the remaining 4 GA from the safety of the bench, but by then the damage was done. Did chip in nearly 3 minutes for the 2-for-2 penalty kill. GAS: ES +0/-4; ST 0.
#74 Stu Skinner, 5. Came in to clean up after the 4-goal opening frame and held the damage to just 1 more in each of final 2 periods. Not a whole lot of chance on those: an unchecked Ryan Strome buried a centring pass on the 5-1, then Alex Killorn got a clear breakaway to put away the 6-1, though it would have been nice to se4e a stop on that last one. Had a couple of sharp saves in between times. 16 shots, 14 saves, .875 save percentage.
#90 Corey Perry, 6. Like Kapanen, managed to saw off hia 13 minutes at even strength at 0-0. Also like Kapanen (and Hyman, and Henrique) was unable to muster a single shot on goal. But Oilers had the puck in the right end of the ice for the most part, with on-ice shot shares of 8-2 EDM. His screen of Dostal played a role in the 1-0. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0.
#92 Vasily Podkolzin, 5. Mustered the only shot on goal on his (largely effective) line, and also led all forwards with 5 hits. Did some good work on the PK. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0,
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 4. Had some good moments in the o-zone, including a dangerous jam shot off his own stick that tested Dostal. His 2:10 SHTOI led the forwards. But he was badly beaten on Killorn’s breakaway tally that ran the score to 6-1. GAS: ES +4/-1; ST 0.
#97 Connor McDavid, 6. Came out flying, attacking the blueline and then the net with zest and confidence. More aggressive shooting the puck, leading the team with 5 shots. Made a lovely pass to set up Draisaitl’s opening tally, then scored the closer himself with a breathtaking rush and finish, with both points coming on the powerplay. Even strength was another matter, with 0 points to show for it and another -2 with mistakes by McDavid himself playing a factor in both goals against. 8 games ago he sported a +15 on the season, at this moment that figure has shrunk to just +1. GAS: ES +7/-3; ST +2/-0.
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