Oilers 2, Sabres 3
The most accurate word to describe the Edmonton Oilers performance in Buffalo on Monday night is “sloppy”. Sloppy puck management. Sloppy defensive coverage. Sloppy rebound control. Sloppy finishing.
In the end, too much self-inflicted slop for the Oilers to overcome, even against the last place club in the Eastern Conference. The home-standing Sabres built a trio of 1-goal leads and managed to hang on to the last of those to take a 3-2 win in regulation. All 3 Buffalo goals came off the rush, vs. none for the visitors.
For an Edmonton club that was starting to build a modest win streak to counter an absymal stretch following the 4 Nations Face-Off, it’s right back to square one. With their 4-game road trip off to a resounding 0-1-0 start, they’ll now have to wait until Thursday to begin a 3 games in 4 nights stretch against a trio of squads in the Greater New York area who are all fighting for a playoff spot.
Fair to say the Oilers had precious little puck luck on Monday, ringing the iron no fewer than 5 times. As a group they did a much better job hitting a 2-inch-pipe than a 6-foot-hockey net, especially a forward corps that managed to score not at all against the 30th ranked defensive club in the league. The offence was shared between Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard who each scored once while co-leading the club with 6 shots on net apiece.
Shots on net were 34-23 Edmonton. Our own counts at the Cult of Hockey had the Oilers comfortably in front by 20 Grade A Shots to 9, and in 5-alarm shots by a whopping 13 to 5 (running count). On the other side of the coin, the automated counts of Natural Stat Trick had Buffalo with a slight edge in expected goals, 3.19 to 2.97. One thing’s for sure, it was never under control. It was a game that was left up for grabs all night, and in the end, the hapless Sabres grabbed it to end their 6-game losing skid.
Player grades
#2 Evan Bouchard, 5. Played a team high 26:32. Scored the 2-2 tally on the powerplay when he ripped a one-timer from the top of the circle into the open side of the net. Had a couple other decent looks on the PP, and one bad turnover that resulted in a 2-on-1. Things didn’t go so well at even strength, where he was on the ice for 2 goals against. Allowed an outside shot on the first one, not exactly a grave error. Lost a key battle from what seemed to be inside position on the game winner, when Josh Norris and Tage Thompson were able to win the puck and then work it around him. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +1/-3; Special Teams +2/-1.
#13 Mattias Janmark, 5. Played the sort of game that would be useful had his team ever gotten the lead. Filled in at centre and did a passable job other than on the faceoff dot where he posted just 2/8=25% including a lost d-zone draw that led directly to a scoring chance. A won battle at the good end led to a pair of rapid fire chances by Brown. Fine on the PK where his 1:53 led all forwards. Oilers sawed off his 10½ minutes at even by the predictable score of 0-0. But why the man with 2 goals all season played a full shift in the last 2½ minutes of the third was hard to explain. GAS: ES +3/-2; ST 0.
#18 Zach Hyman, 4. Did some grinding in the trenches but had a very quiet game with just 1 shot attempt. 1 penalty both drawn and taken, marginal calls both. The key stat was -1, in which his weak backcheck was a key factor in letting dangerous Alex Tuch loose to lash in his 25th of the season, this after Hyman’s blind centring pass led to the rush in the first place. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST 0.
#19 Adam Henrique, 5. Yet another game with 0 shots, his 4th in a row and 7th in his last 10 games, with just 1 shot in each of the other 3. He did, however, catch my eye repeatedly with strong defensive plays, notably an excellent shot block in the last going. Indeed, all of his crooked numbers were in the “without the puck” section of the Event Summary: 3 hits, 2 takeaways, 1 block. Also posted a solid 8/13=62% on the dot. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.
#25 Darnell Nurse, 6. Got the Oilers back in the game at 1-1 with a hard 1-timer through a heavy screen, the best of his team-high 6 shots on net. Rang another wicked drive off the crossbar. Kept a clean sheet defensively by our metrics, even as he was charged with a team-worst 4 giveaways none proved costly. Oilers owned a 16-9 shot advantage during his 20+ minutes at even strength. Chipped in a team-leading 2:08 on the 2-for-2 penalty kill. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST 0.
#27 Brett Kulak, 4. His weak coverage against the rush and pass was a big factor in Tuch’s 2-1 goal. Backed in a bit too far leaving the passing lane wide open. Far out of the play on the game winner, though he had no control over the brutal turnover at the offensive blueline that turned an offensive cycle into a defensive emergency. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST 0.
#28 Connor Brown, 5. Involved in a few chances at the good end of the ice, but his night — indeed his season — was characterized by his inability to sweep his own rebound into a wide open net, instead hitting the post. Played a solid 2-way game, but no joy. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST 0.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 6. Secondary assists on both Oilers goals. Bulled his way to the net twice on partial breakaways. Fired a trio of 1-timers from his favourite part of the ice. But was unable to solve a rock solid Ukko-Paekka Luukkonenin the Sabres cage, and when he did the goal post had the answer. Set up RNH for a splendid look in the dying seconds but no finish there either. Took a wicked slash on the hand early in an Oilers powerplay but the game managers didn’t seem to notice the obvious foul. His 4 shots and 9 attempts led all forwards. 12/20=60% on the dot. GAS: ES +6/-0; ST +4/-0.
#33 Viktor Arvidsson, 3. Hands of stone on a pair of brutal turnovers in the first period, the first in his own zone leading directly to a 5-alarm shot. The other at the offensive blue line leading to a rush the other way and the 1-0 goal. The puck died on his stick a couple other times. 2 shots and 3 hits, but his Grade A shot contributions tell a very different story. GAS: ES +0/-4; ST 0.
#46 Max Jones, 4. Played a few ticks under 10 minutes, without a lot happening at either end. 0 shot attempts, 2 hits, and a slashing minor. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.
#49 Ty Emberson, 4. Had the worst turnover of the entire game when he inexplicably fired a backhand pass from the defensive corner right into (Stu) Skinner’s skates, creating a loose puck and a wild scramble though no actual shot resulted. Judging by shot attempts of 3 for and 8 against, the puck was largely in Edmonton’s end of the sheet during his 10½ minutes. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.
#51 Troy Stecher, 6. Had a splendid sequence on the 1-1, circling the Buffalo zone and playing catch with his partner, ultimately teeing up Nurse’s 1-timer that found the range. Mistake free, solving his own problem the one time he got into a spot of bother. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 0.
#53 Jeff Skinner, 5. The Oilers did him the courtesy of giving him the game against his old team. Fired 3 attempts with some decent passes on the cycle and a won battle that helped set up Brown’s glorious chance. Pinged the crossbar in the third. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 0.
#74 Stu Skinner, 4. Played most of a solid game, but it was ruined by a bad sequence on the first Buffalo goal. First he was unable to hang on to Tage Thompson’s (wicked) drive, then he was unable to corral the rebound which bounced over his paddle straight to Thompson who punched it home. Had at least 1 other shaky rebound that didn’t prove costly. Had little chance against Tuch’s uncontested drive from the slot, and none at all on Thompson’s polished finish on the game winner. Made a few fine saves along the way, notably when he stuffed Tuch on a wide-open shorthanded chance with 5 minutes left. Nonetheless, he made 1 more mistake than did his counterpart at the far end of the ice, and in a 1-goal loss that stings. 23 shots, 20 saves, .870 save percentage.
#90 Corey Perry, 4. Not a lot happening on this night. Played 12:30 with just 1 shot attempt, that missed the target, His signature moment came when he came on as the extra attacker on a delayed penalty only to become the Oiler who coughed up the puck to end a mildly promising cycle. GAS: ES +0/-0′ ST 0.
#92 Vasily Podkolzin, 5. His terrific screen played a major role on Nurse’s 1-1 goal. Alas, his bad giveaway at the offensive blueline resulted in the jail break that produced the game’s decisive goal. Led the team with 5 hits. GAS: ES +2/-2; ST 0.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. Played an OK game but continues to be snakebit around the net. Had the Oilers best chance on a late-game powerplay but didn’t get a lot on his shot from the edge of the crease. Had a pair of chances from a similar spot (edge of the crease) in the final 15 seconds, but again couldn’t find a way to get it past Luukkonen. His 4 shots co-led the forwards. Also rang the post. Far behind the play on the 2-1, though whether he could reasonably be expected to get back and help thwart the rush wasn’t entirely clear from the replay angles available. Noentheless, the lack of forward support on the back track was a major problem on that goal with both wingers gliding and watching from afar. GAS: ES +4/-2; ST +1/-0.
#96 Jake Walman, 5. An interesting player with plenty of nuance to his game that will take time to appreciate. Skated well, moved the puck OK. Was the closest to Thompson when the Sabre opened the scoring, though he could hardly have expected such a greasy rebound on the play. Impressed with one play where he stooped a potential Sabres jailbreak with a physical intervention before the puck even reached the red line, then quickly reversed play back in a good direction. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST 0.
#97 Connor McDavid,6. Came out jumping and led the early charge as Edmonton took the play to the Sabres. Fired both of his shots in the opening 10 minutes, then spent the rest of the night setting up his mates. Made a terrific dangle and pass that set up Bouchard’s powerplay snipe. But was among those beaten on the 2-1; initially in good position as the high forward on the backcheck, but pursued the puck rather than guarding the slot against the trailer, a.k.a. the goal scorer. Drew 2 penalties. Played 26 minutes as his team struggled to find any secondary offence against lowly Buffalo. That’s a problem. GAS: ES +8/-1; ST +4/-1.
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