The Connor McDavid-less Oilers exacted the best revenge possible from the Canucks Thursday night…
In the wake of controversial circumstances at the end of a loss to Vancouver a few nights earlier, Edmonton pumped the ‘Nucks 6-2 in a game that left little to be debated as to who was the better and more engaged club.
Leon Draisaitl continued his MVP-type season with a three-point game. Zach Hyman buried two and could have had four. Calvin Pickard was strong early.
And Corey Perry was in full-worm form with a highly effective, agitating display.
Here is the tale of the tape…
Edmonton Oilers Player Grades
CALVIN PICKARD. 7. A key figure early in this game. A sharp glove save after Hyman had turned the puck over in the high slot. Spilled a rebound on an initial shot but then stretched out a pad to deny Boeser on the second chance. Marvelous stop. Got another pad on a DeBrusk shot in tight. Notably, all this came before his mates eventually scored three unanswered goals to end the period. Absorbed a hard stick from Garland at the whistle, drawing a full, five-man Oilers response behind him. A victim of three poor defensive decisions in front of him. Yes, there was a screen on the 5-2, but…it was a high screen. Bang-bang chance from Miller turned aside in the third.
CONNOR McDAVID. N/A. Included in protest.
LEON DRAISAITL. 9. Elite-level game. A high light reel pass backhanded from his own defensive corner to Hyman the attacking blueline on the 1-0. Made the game 2-0 with a one-timer off a Nugent-Hopkins feed but had been instrumental in the pressure on that shift and had hit the post seconds earlier. Another backhand pass created an opportunity for Bouchard. A sweet back-hand dish almost set up Hyman for a hat trick. Feed to Skinner for a PP chance. Dished a tidy pass into the low slot for Nugent-Hopkins on the 5-0. Set up Podkolzin for a shot late in the second. A feed for a Bouchard shot. Pretty much dragged three defenders around on his back before setting up Arvidsson for a good look.
VASILY PODKLZIN. 6. Effective performance. Drew the penalty that led to the 5-0. Appeared to cause at least a partial screen on the 5-2. Led the Oilers by a wide gap with six hits.
VIKTOR ARVIDSSON. 5. Secondary assist on the 1-0. Lost a puck battle off a won faceoff on the 5-2. Fed Kulak for a good chance.
EVAN BOUCHARD. 6. Just a lovely pass sifted high to low sent Nugent-Hopkins in for an early Grade “A”. Drew a roughing call that led to the 1-0. Hard shot from a nice Draisaitl back-hand pass. Secondary assist on the 5-0. Hard third period blast which then skittered 5-hole but wide. Steady performance.
MATTIAS EKHOLM. 7. Primary assist on the 3-0. High Dangers 4-2 5v5. Four shots and +2.
ADAM HENRIQUE. 6. A nifty wraparound to make the game 3-0. A slick feed to Hyman who just missed the hat trick on that attempt. Fifty-six percent on draws. 3 Hits.
ZACH HYMAN. 8. First game with the full shield off and it showed. Swallowed up an amazing pass from Draisaitl and drove the net hard for the 1-0. Knocked down the shot-pass by Draisaitl into the deep slot, earning an assist on the 2-0. Sliced a fine Noah Philp pass home for his second of the night to make it 4-0. It looked like he had the hat trick, but Demko made a spectacular stick save. Missed another opportunity off a great Henrique pass.
COREY PERRY. 8. Vintage Corey Perry. Drew the penalty that led to the 2-0. The, while no assist came his way on the 3-0, it was Perry that won the board battle down low and then offered traffic in front. Hard forecheck creates a turnover on the 4-0. Terrific follow-up shift with two hard blasts at the net. Great pass to Skinner for a PP chance. Took Hughes hard to the deck after Garland had driven his stick into Pickard at the whistle. Goaded the Canucks into evening up what appeared to be a pending PP. Good wall work on the 6-2. +3.
Related: Corey Perry scores Corey Perry hat trick against Canucks
DARNELL NURSE. 7. A glove in the face of Conor Garland, which the crowd loved but also contributed to the puck battle win ahead of the 1-0. Hard charge to the net in the third. Notable shot block late, with the game well out of reach, rather than forcing his goalie to face another drive needlessly. Two blocks, five hits. High Dangers 5v5 3-0.
TROY STECHER. 4. Poor decision led directly to the 5-1. The same work rate as you would expect from him but was buried 5v5.
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 7. Two point-blank chances early in the first, a shot off a beautiful Bouchard feed, the other a post after a Vancouver turnover. An excellent feed from beneath the goal line to Draisaitl for the 2-0. Finished off a splendid five-and-go with Leon with a wicked wrist shot top-shelf glove-side for the 5-0. Three shots, 50% in the circle.
MATTIAS JANMARK. 4. Quiet night. -1.
CONNOR BROWN. 4. Tepid back-check on the 5-1. -1.
BRETT KULAK. 7. Hard third period blast off an Arvidsson pass. Had the flow of play headed in a positive direction while he was on the ice, 5v5 CF 23-15, 61%. HDSC’s 7-0. Two shots, two blocks, +1.
TY EMBERSON. 8. One of his strongest games of an Oiler. Madre a strong play on the wall just inside his own zone then a chip up to Kapanen for the 6-2. Excellent play. 5v5 CF 64% to lead the Oilers. HDSC’s 8-0. Excellent.
NOAH PHILP. 6. A shot (off a 2-on-1) and a turnover in the first. A fine pass to Zach Hyman backdoor for the 4-0. I did not love his route on the 5-1 but he was not primarily at fault. Strong wall play deep in his own zone led to a safe clear in the third. HDSC’s 7-1 on his watch 5v5.
KASPERI KAPANEN. 6. Good pressure on Hughes leads to a safe zone exit. Drew a second period trip. Off to the races with a chip pass by Emberson and deposited his own rebound for the 6-2. His speed was on full display on that sequence.
JEFF SKINNER. 5. Saw time on the first unit PP, seemed to mesh well and serve as an emollient in the movement of the puck. Two terrific chances denied on a second period man advantage. Missed a yawning cage a shift later. Got some good looks.
The Oilers season record goes to 30-15-3, 63 points, a single point back of Vegas for the Pacific Division lead. next up…Saturday against Buffalo.
Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.
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