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The Oilers were dealt a devastating defeat by the Vegas Golden Knights on a late goal with just 0.4 seconds left in the game. That pretty accurately summarizes how the majority of the game went tonight, and left a lot to be desired as a “first post” for the newest addition to the Cult of Hockey team. This game was a pretty epic struggle, marked in usual hockey fashion by who made the fewest mistakes. Tonight that was not the Oilers.
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Evan Bouchard, 5: Overall decent game, moving the puck pretty well and making some good defensive plays. Assists on the second and third goals. Could not collect the rebound on the second goal against after Skinner made the initial save. 24:59, 0-2-2, Even, 1 hit, 2 blocks.
Mattias Janmark, 4: The fourth line got positively crushed tonight after running hot for a few games. Janmark was probably the least offensive, but the line as a whole struggled and the puck was moving in the wrong direction the majority of the time. All three saw their minutes drastically trimmed in the 3rd. 10:11, -2, 1 hit.
Zach Hyman, 6: Hyman continued his dizzying pace of hits, throwing a team leading 9 hits, and generally being all over the puck tonight. Took a penalty for goaltender interference (which frankly wasn’t a good call) as he got spun into Vegas netminder Adin Hill, knocking his helmet loose in the process. 16:31, -1, 2 PIM, 9 hits.
Adam Henrique, 4: Had an solid night on the dot (13/19), but otherwise was quiet. Speed was a concern to this observer’s eyes. 14:45, 2 hits, 68% on the dot.
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Trent Frederic, 4: Quiet. Very Quiet. Had nothing going for boxcars and besides 3 hits, little else. 11:34, 3 hits.
Darnell Nurse, 2: Honestly, a terrible game from the veteran defenseman. By the HockeyStatCard for tonight, the 4th worst performance of any skater in the playoffs and the “eye test” for this evening lined up with that. Completely lost on the final goal against. Laying on the ice is extremely vogue again for this team, and is spreading to other players. Please make it stop, there is a time and a place. 24:57, -3, 1 block.
Brett Kulak, 3: A curiously bad game from the generally reliable Spruce Grove native. Burned for two goals against, including the final killing blow with under a second left. Had issues completing passes tonight. 24:02, -2, 1 hit, 2 blocks.
Connor Brown, 5: After having an absolute legacy game one, Brown has been less visible the past two games. Tonight he was OK on his usual forecheck duties, but struggled to generate anything offensively. 15:08, 2 giveaways, 1 block.
Leon Draisaitl, 3: We’re going to break protocol here slightly, and say very directly that I (yes, in the first person) am a huge Leon supporter. Huge. With that said, this may be one of the worst games I’ve seen him play in an Oilers uniform, certainly in recent memory. Got pickpocketed on the first goal against leading to a two on one mostly due to not enough speed through the neutral zone. Extremely sloppy line changes multiple times tonight, including an awful line change on the third goal against. Massively over pinched on the final goal against, then on the backtrack poked a puck that was going wide directly into his own net with 0.4 seconds left. In addition to these costly mistakes he was an absolute giveaway machine with 4 turnovers (by the league stats) and it’s safe to say that’s probably low. The only reason Draisaitl is not receiving a devastating grade of 1 or 2 is because this observer strongly believes he’s still seriously injured and he had two assists. Very little else went right for Leon tonight. 20:47, 0-2-2, Even, 4 giveaways, 60% on the dot.
Viktor Arvidsson, 4: Not much going tonight, and continues to have difficulties staying on his skates. Arguably the least effective member of the 4th line, but not by much. This line has been quite good, but they got pretty badly cooked tonight. Arvidsson and Podkolzin got completely worked on the second goal against. 9:54, -1, 1 block.
John Klingberg, 4: A very “average” game in all definitions of the word bordering on “mid”. Tried to throw an unnecessary hit against Eichel on the second goal against that blew his coverage and left Arvidsson and Podkolzin swinging in the wind. 16:45, 3 hits, 1 block.
Ty Emberson, 5: Played just 7 minutes, barely enough to assess one way or the other. Sawed off shot shares at 50%. 7:00, 2 hits, 1 block.
Stuart Skinner, 3: It was widely hoped that Skinner would use this as an opportunity to regain the starting net. He didn’t end up making a very good case for that tonight, with a combination of goals that needed one more save between them (particularly the second). He did make good stops on a wrap around attempt and two on one that prevented the game from getting out of hand. It’s fair to say he got lousy support on basically all the goals against, but he still needs to be better. Adin Hill was only slightly better tonight, but it was just enough. The game winning goal was going wide until Draisaitl knocked it in. .833 Sv%, -1.07 GSAx (Goals Saved Above expected based on Evolving Hockey’s numbers).
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/9Lv8RYbqV9
Corey Perry, 7: Two early goals to put the team up, but it didn’t last, being erased before the end of the first period. Got quieter as the game went along, but he was very effective early. Scored the lone power play goal redirecting a Bouchard wrister. 15:18, 2-0-2, Even, 2 hits.
Evander Kane, 5: Not much going tonight for Evander, but did throw two big hits. Got an extremely marginal penalty for “Illegal Check to the Head” that I don’t think was anything more than an over-emphasized head snap that the ref bought. 14:06, 2 PIM, 2 hits, 2 giveaways.
Vasily Podkolzin, 4: Poorly played the second goal against. Not as visible as he’s been in other games and struggled with the rest of the fourth line. 8:19, -1, 2 hits.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5: One assist, and more visible tonight. Just 36% on the dot though. 18:23, 0-1-1, Even, 1 hit.
Jake Walman, 5: Badly played the second goal against, trying to cut off a pass that either didn’t really exist or wasn’t really a threat. Arvidsson and Podkolzin got walked and Walman probably could have been in a better position to handle it. Not as visible as he’s been in other games. That said, the only plus player on the ice for the oil so he breaks even. 19:23, +1, 4 hits.
Connor McDavid, 7: Beauty play with Skinner to assist on Perry’s first goal. No shots through 2 periods, but turned it way up in the third, scoring a lucky goal off of McNabb’s skate to tie the game late. Unfortunately they could not close out the period. 23:58, 1-1-2, -1, 5 shots, 67% on the dot.
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