Article content
The Edmonton Oilers finally brought their “A” game and defeated the team. vancouver canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night.
The Oilers dominated in almost every aspect of play, scored one power play goal, stopped three of Vancouver’s power plays, played good defense, scored two even-strength goals, and matched Vancouver in that category. did. Calvin Pickard was also solid in net, but not as spectacular as Vancouver’s Artur Shilovs.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
But Shilovs wasn’t the best player on the ice this time. That honor goes to game-winning shooter Evan Bouchard.
In total, Edmonton had 17 Grade A shots and Vancouver had eight, with the more dangerous subset of five-alarm shots being six for the Oilers and three for the Canucks.
Good game, one assist, one dirt, much better than bad. He drew three Canucks defenders on the power play and then slotted a pass to Draisaitl for the first goal of the game. His line was up and running in the second period, producing four Grade A shots and ensuring ample O-Hi zone time. Vancouver’s second goal came a little too high in the D-zone, giving Brock Boeser too much time to get into position, which was never a good idea.
97 Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +5/-1; Special Teams +2/-0.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Zach Hyman, 7 years old.
Provided a reliable screen for Edmonton’s first goal. He showed a lot of smart hustle plays and worked hard all game. There were no major mistakes on defense.
#18 Gas: ES +3/-0; ST+3/-0.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 8 years old.
It was a great goal in this match. Reunited on the top line, his game reinvigorated. He did his best work early on as part of Edmonton’s busy penalty kill, allowing just one shot on his first double-minor kill. That alone earned him a standing ovation. He won the board battle, freeing Nurse for a break-in shot. Then came the moment when Vancouver paid for Carson Soucy’s bad cross-check and suspension, with substitute Noah Julsen out of position, allowing Edmonton to go up 2-on-1, and RNH’s shot hitting the post. I released it. He snapped some tasty power-play slot shots wide early in the third.
#93 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+1/-0.
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
Leon Draisaitl, 8 years old.
Although he is not yet fully healthy, Leon showed great success with one goal and one assist. His line created some dangerous shots on offense. Great job moving his feet to give JT Miller an early penalty. He then overtook Arturs Sylovs with the world-famous Executioner’s Shot. A careless no-look backhand turnover led to a 2-1 break late in the first match, but the big #29 made up for his mistake with a ferocious backcheck. Garland was slow on his shot on goal. But, as usual, he made a great pass and set Bouchard up for the winning goal. He led the league with 20 points in nine playoff games.
#29 Gas: ES +5/-1; ST+2/-0.Evander Kane, 8 years old.
This game represented the return of Mr. Playoff, and it wasn’t too early in this series. He earned the first big cheer of the game by defeating Nikita Zadorov (who commentator Jason Strudwick rightly calls the series’ top predator), then slammed him into the boards twice on the same shift minutes later. But he took a careless cross-check penalty in the face of Tyler Myers. He scored a Grade A for Nurse with a great forecheck. Kane almost forced a slot shot late in the second game, but the shot hit the post. A big clearance on the third shot almost led to a break-in goal. His monster hit then hit Filip Hronek, and a big goal from Bouchard started a virtuous cycle. Who is the current Apex Predator?
Advertisement 5
Article content
#91 Gas: ES +4/-0; ST+0/-0.Dylan Holloway, 7 years old.
I felt right at home with Draisaitl and Kane. He progressed from the AHL to the fourth line, third line and then second line. There was some solid stickhandling and passing in this game. Check out the huge slot stick with the garland in the middle of the slot. He made a charge late in the second period in Grade A, then set up Kane for another period.
#55 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+0/-0.Ryan McLeod, 6 years old.
He kept it simple and defended himself. It looked wide open in the first period, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar. The first PK was taken by Edmonton’s unit, which killed off six minutes.
#71 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+0/-0.Corey Perry, 5 years old.
Several early puck failures made me wonder why the Oilers would stick with him over Sam Gagner. I couldn’t do much. He played just nine minutes, had no shots or hits, but made no mistakes in key defense. Then he ducked Brock Boeser with his stick, pushing Boeser away from the scrum and causing a fun but silly social media tirade.
#90 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+0/-0.Warren Vogel, 5 years old.
He’s as inconspicuous as Perry, but he makes no mistakes defensively.
#37 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+0/-0.Derek Ryan, 6 years old.
He won the board battle and went wide on Edmonton’s long first-period penalty kill. He hit Hughes hard late in the second game. He lost the faceoff on Vancouver’s second goal.
Advertisement 6
Article content
#10 Gas: ES +0/-1; ST+0/-0.Matthias Janmark, 7 years old.
He burst shorthanded and hit five alarm shots. They are solid because their defense is solid. I would like him to come out at the last moment of every game to protect the lead, but that’s just me.
#13 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+1/-0.Connor Brown, 6 years old.
Good defense, good PK, no offensive power.
#28 Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+1/-0.Evan Bouchard, 9 years old.
What a cool killer he turned out to be. Edmonton’s best player in this game. One assist, one great goal. Another winning goal. His great play continued into the game. He made a smart pass that set McDavid free for Edmonton’s first goal. He then made a great dig and set McLeod in the slot for a great chance. Great stick-on puck shot block by Joshua in the middle. The winning goal was an outside shot that broke through Detroit’s double screen, set by two Vancouver defenders. If they had shown Shilovs that outside shot, he would have stopped it, but they screened it.
#02 Gas: ES +4/-2; ST+1/-0.
Advertisement 7
Article content
Matthias Ekholm, 8 years old.
He showed solid defense from the start, stopping a pass to Lafferty from breaking in alone. Late in the first half, there was a big play to stop Garland from getting a rebound, which could have prevented the goal. He lost the board battle and was removed from position as the second of two Canuck Grade As on the same shift. Great play on Edmonton’s second goal, avoiding a big hit and sending RNH and McD into a 2-1 scoring play. He made a great play at the blue line to keep the puck and score the winning goal.
#14 Gas: ES +2/-2; ST+0/-0.Kodi Ceci, 6 years old.
He looked much better with crack. On the second, he bobbled the puck and allowed Brock Boeser to break in for a dangerous chance, but Ceci cleared the rebound. He penetrated in tandem with Drai, but was unable to find the back of the net midway through the game. He bobbled the puck a few more times, but showed good positional defense.
#05 Gas: ES +0/-1; ST+1/-0.Brett Clack, 7 years old.
He played 2 hours and 31 minutes as a substitute, making solid defensive stops and clearances as Vancouver applied pressure in the second period. His good skating started Edmonton’s Grade A sequence late in the second. His hard work earned him a penalty kick early in the third game against Vancouver. He was the only Oilers D-man to keep a clean sheet at even strength and didn’t miss a single grade-A shot.
Advertisement 8
Article content
#27 Gas: ES +1/-0; ST+0/-0.Darnell Nurse, 6 years old.
It’s better than bad. It wasn’t the best start, as he took a penalty early and then charged and lost the puck, almost leading to a 3-on-1 break for the Canucks. However, he made a good pass in the sequence that led to Janmark’s chance to break through. He broke the ice with two Grade A shots midway through the game. Garland’s goal was deflected off the leg.
#25 Gas: ES +3/-1; ST+1/-0.Vincent Descharnais, 5 years old.
He struggled, but fought some more and fought some more and helped bring the puck down in the final seconds. His first penalty allowed a couple of Grade A shots, both of which were Garland. He gave away the puck twice in a sequence of pain, leading to Conor Garland’s goal seven minutes into the third. Boeser allowed a shot for Vancouver’s second goal.
#73 Gas: ES +0/-2; ST+0/-2.Calvin Picard, 8 years old.
They took only eight Grade A shots, but calmly found the net and conceded just two goals. That’s almost always enough for the Oilers to win. He recorded an early save on Vancouver’s first power play. He packed a dangerous garland late in the first. Bluegar’s harpoon looked good on it. Then came the big moment when Pickard accomplished what Stuart Skinner couldn’t do last time out, stopping Sniper Boeser with five break-in shots. Garland had little chance to score, but Garland was hit by a screen and the puck went off Nurse. The second goal was roller derby madness and Pick had little chance.
Recently on Cult of Hockey
Staples: Edmonton Oilers Old Boys Club gets its message acrossStaples: Social media explodes in wake of Susie McDavid case Staples: Another playoff season in an oil-producing nation, yet another controversy over goals.Leabins: 9 thingsMcCurdy: Oilers vs. Canucks — How It Was MadePlayer performance:
Article content
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/player-grades-evan-bouchard-sprinkles-his-magic-over-edmonton-oilers-3-2-win-over-vancouver-canucks