Player grades: Oilers unleash four-line attack, demolish Canucks 7-3

Edmonton Oilers have been taking a lot of heat this young season for their struggling offensive production. Despite being among the league’s elite in underlying numbers like shots, shot attempts, scoring chances and zone time, the Oil entered Saturday night’s game at Vancouver tied for 30th in the one category that matters, Goals For with just 33 in 14 games, or 2.36 per game.

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That changed for the better in Vancouver, as the Oilers lit the lamp seven times to jump all the way to 22nd in goal production (2.68 GF/GP). That’s still a far cry from where they belong but a welcome giant step in the right direction. The best news was the distribution of those goals, as all four lines scored at least once and the defence corps chipped in as well. So too did the powerplay, dormant most of the season but in control on Saturday.

No fewer than 16 of the 18 Edmonton skaters ended up in the plus column, further evidence of a full team effort. After a brief hiccup in the middle frame that saw a 3-0 lead quickly dwindle to 3-2, the Oilers left nothing to chance in the third. They outshot Vancouver 15-2 in the first 15 minutes, scoring 4 times to end Kevin Lankinen’s night early and send him to the showers with his first regulation loss in 10 decisions.

Edmonton’s dominance shone through statistically, as they outshot their hosts 31-20 on the night. The Cult of Hockey‘s video analysis had the Oilers in front in Grade A shots by 15-9, and in 5-alarm shots by 9-4 (running count). The better team won this game and won it convincingly, 7-3.

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#2 Evan Bouchard, 5. A quiet outing. Had some good moments on the powerplay and mustered 3 shots on net, though nothing seriously dangerous. Oilers dominated possession, outshooting Vancouver 11-4 during his 18 even strength minutes. An unnecessary late penalty resulted in a consolation goal by the Canucks in the final minute of play. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +0/-0; Special Teams 0.

#10 Derek Ryan, 6. Picked up his first point in the season when he jumped on a favourable bounce off a stanchion to start a deadly three-way passing play. Nearly added his first goal of the campaign on a third period breakaway but was stoned by Lankinen. Played a team-low 10:18 on a rare night where all 12 forwards were above 10 but below 20 minutes. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.

#13 Mattias Janmark, 7. A rare offensive outburst with 3 assists, the best of them a perfect feed to Perry for the tap-in on the stanchion play. Promoted to the third line in the final frame, he earned helpers on both of Brown’s tallies. Did make an horrendous turnover on the second Vancouver goal to knock his grade down by a point, but still an excellent night overall. Named the game’s first star, a rare honour for the grinding Swede. GAS: ES +5/-2; ST 0.

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#14 Mattias Ekholm, 5. His pairing with Bouchard pushed the play north for most of the night (shots 15-5 in his 18 minutes) even as he too found no joy on the scoresheet. A failed clearance led to the first Canucks goal. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST 0.

#18 Zach Hyman, 6. Did his best work around the blue paint with the man advantage, earning one primary assist on Draisaitl’s goal a few ticks after Edmonton’s first PP wound down, and another on McDavid’s tally just 10 seconds after the third and final PP started. 2 shots, 2 giveaways. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +3/0.

#19 Adam Henrique, 6. Played a sound two-way game that included plenty of grinding in the trenches. Did a fine job to stay with Quinn Hughes and block a shot by the elusive rearguard. Finally mustered his first assist of the season when he set up Brown’s game winner early in the third. Started the game at left wing and wound up at centre. 2 hits. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 5. Played a sturdy physical game, leading the team with 3 hits. Led all Oilers in ice time with 22:07 in all situations, once again splitting his 5v5 time with two primary partners in Stecher (14:25) and Kulak (5:22). Made a questionable decision to bat down a puck in the defensive slot that led directly to Vancouver’s final goal. No points but +2 on the night. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST +0/-1. 

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#27 Brett Kulak, 6. He too split time on two pairings, Emberson (11:28) and Nurse (5:22). Had a big night offensively with an assist thanks to an excellent stretch pass to Draisaitl on Arvidsson’s goal, then scored his fourth of the season on a Grade B shot that somehow found a hole in Lankinen. Those 2 points more than made up for his mistake on the second Vancouver goal when he blew the zone early, then failed to identify the danger man after the ensuing turnover. Made a fine pass up the boards to spring Podkolzin and Brown on a 2v1 shorthanded rush. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST +1/0.

#28 Connor Brown, 8. Lit the lamp not once but twice, and came within an ace of doing so again on a couple other occasions. Robbed by Lankinen on that short handed chance, and came within an ace of completing his first career hat trick in the late going. 2 goals on a team-high 5 shots. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +1/-0.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. Opened the scoring just 2:48 in, reacting quickly to Hyman’s wide dribbler to collect the puck, pull it back in front and then pound it upstairs. This after making a dazzling move and pass to keep the play alive seconds earlier. Primary assist on Arvidsson’s 3-0 tally when he took Kulak’s stretch pass, gained the zone while skating backwards, then fed his breaking winger with a backhand pass. Strong effort in both directions, highlighted by a third period sequence when his early hustle on the backtrack enabled him to win back the puck inside the Vancouver blueline, then start another cycle of pressure on the attack. Workhorse on the faceoff dot with 13/23=57%, matching his always-excellent win rate for the season to date. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +2/-0.

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#33 Viktor Arvidsson, 7. Snapped home his second goal of the season to extend Edmonton’s lead to 3-0 early in the second. Later had a dangerous deflection from the lip of the crease. Drew a penalty that led to a powerplay goal. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0.

#49 Ty Emberson, 6. Solid defensively, moved the puck OK, and finally got his first point of the season with a secondary assist on Kulak’s goal. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0.

#51 Troy Stecher, 5. A couple of shaky moments, but survived them and generally held the fort. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1.

#53 Jeff Skinner, 5. Struggling to find his place just now. Started the game on the first line, ended it on the fourth. Nothing disastrous, but not much happening in a good way either. 1 shot in 12:17. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0.

#74 Stu Skinner, 5. As solid as he needed to be on a night his was the better team. Not really at fault on any of the goals, delivered a couple of big stops along the way. 20 shots, 17 saves, .850 save percentage.

#90 Corey Perry, 6. Popped home a first period goal by going to the net with his stick on the ice, two things he excels at. Had a wonky moment the other way when he fired an emergency clearing pass that got deflected right on his own net, forcing an alert save from Skinner. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST 0.

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#92 Vasily Podkolzin, 5. Fairly quiet night on his return to Vancouver. Jumped into the play to create a shorthanded 2v1 and fed a nice pass to Brown who was foiled on the doorstep. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0.

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. Can’t buy a goal just now, and proved it again in the third period when he was absolutely robbed by a diving Lankinen, who got the toe of his goal stick on Nuge’s close-range redirection of a great McDavid pass 2 shots. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0.

#97 Connor McDavid, 8. His best game of the young season. Started well and got better as the night went along. Made a fine play to get the puck into the danger area on the play that was ultimately finished by Draisaitl for the 1-0. Brilliant shift and pass to RNH for a powerplay shot that really should have scored. Scored a much-needed powerplay goal himself to provide Edmonton some breathing room with a 5-2 lead, then set up Kulak for the 6-2 with a good cross-ice pass just 52 seconds later.  Drew a pair of penalties. His only blemish was a subpar 4/13=31% on the dot. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0.

LEAVINS: 9 Things, including the availability of Dante Fabbro

STAPLES: Oilers could be younger, faster, more aggressive. So why aren’t they? 

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McCURDY: Oilers coaches find innovative ways to maximize d-corps

LEAVINS: Player grades from frustrating loss to Vegas

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