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Oilers 4, Jets 5 (OT)
For 50 minutes on Sunday, Edmonton Oilers had things going their way. Their big line was humming, they got a goal from a depth line, and they bossed the game — a must-win affair, need I mention — to a 4-1 lead midway through the third.
Then came a needless penalty, and just like that the roof caved in. By the time the dust settled, 20 minutes of playing time but about 10 dog years for their long-suffering fans later, they had blown the lead, the game, and probably the series. The 3-goal lead disappeared in 3 minutes and 3 seconds, leading to an unexpected overtime period which should never have been necessary. 9 minutes into the extra frame Nikolaj Ehlers scored off a won Jets faceoff, something that happened with alarming frequency all night long. The Oilers won just 4 of 24 (!!) d-zone faceoffs for a miserable 17% “success” rate, leading to 2 Jets goals including the game winner, which was scored directly off a lost faceoff quicker than you can say “Daryl Evans”.
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The Oilers dominated long stretches of this game, outshooting the Jets 48-37 even as they lost the battle of Grade A scoring chances for the first time in the series, 16-18 (running count). But as they got deeper into it they lost a whole lot of battles along the walls in their own zone as the Jets forwards pressed hard, causing turnovers, loose pucks, and general chaos.
At day’s end this was hockey’s version of what happened to the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, when their bullpen couldn’t get the job done, walking five batters in the ninth inning including three in a row with the bases loaded to blow what had seemed to be a comfortable lead. Credit to the oppostion for ramping up the pressure, but the mistakes were largely self-inflicted in both cases.
And all of a sudden, a team with a previously exemplary record for bouncing back after single losses can’t win a game to save their souls.
Player grades
#6 Adam Larsson, 5. Battled hard, won a lot of battles but not all of them. Screened Smith on the Jets first goal, scored on the powerplay. Did earn an assist with an outside shot that Khaira tipped home to stretch the lead to a seemingly comfortable 4-1 five minutes into the third. But his shutdown pairing with Kulikov was burned for a key goal (the 4-3) for the third straight game when they couldn’t clear the puck or box out the goal scorer.
#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 6. Was a major force in the early going as the Oilers’ big line poured on the pressure and potted a couple of goals. Chipped in a couple of fine defensive plays in the process. But was among the culprits on the 4-4 goal when he got faked out by Josh Morrissey in the high slot, then got a piece of Morrissey’s wrist shot that ultimately handcuffed Smith. Played 21:55 on the night including 3:33 on the first powerplay unit but not on the 5-on-3 which produced Edmonton’s lone powerplay goal. 4 shots, 3 hits.
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#14 Devin Shore, 5. A decent showing with 3 shots, 3 hits, and a secondary assist on the Khaira goal when he fed Larsson for the point shot. But had some positional issues on the 4-3. Took a pair of d-zone faceoffs after Khaira got waved out and lost both of them.
#15 Josh Archibald, 2. Did a lot of things right in the first 50 minutes, during which his line played hard-nosed two-way hockey. Cycled the puck nicely on a couple of Grade A chances. Was among the penalty-killers beaten on the first Jets goal. Then things came apart for him down the stretch. It was his needless (some would say selfish) penalty for low-bridging big Logan Stanley that started the avalanche of pain for Oil fans, at a time in the game where discipline was an absolute must. (Word is Arch will face a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety tomorrow for that questionable hit.) The Jets quickly scored on the powerplay to breathe life back into them, and seemingly suck it out of the Oilers. He later allowed the outside shot that produced the rebound on the 4-3.
#16 Jujhar Khaira, 4. Played a hard, physical game, leading the team with 7 hits. Among the PKers beaten on the first Jets goal. Fired a couple of hard outside shots, then made an excellent mid-air deflection of Larsson’s point shot to stretch the lead to 4-1. But lost his check on the 4-3, then lost the draw that led directly on the game winner. Just 3/12=25% on the dot including a dismal 1/8 in his own end of the ice, and eventually that proved very costly.
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#20 Slater Koekkoek, 7. Played a fine game, playing nearly 15 minutes on the third pairing with Barrie. Earned an assist on the opening goal when his point shot deflected to Draisaitl in open ice. Oilers dominated the shot clock to the tune of 16-3 on his watch. 0-1-1, +2 on the night.
#22 Tyson Barrie, 6. Looked more at home on the third pairing than he has on the first lately. Fired 4 shots, blocked a couple at the other end. He created the outside shot that was tipped by RNH for Edmonton’s single best chance to re-establish the lead down the stretch.
#25 Darnell Nurse, 4. Another 31 minutes of grinding, with so-so results. Relatively low-event with just 1 shot, 1 hit. The shot was a great look from the slot off a McDavid set-up, but he didn’t get a lot on it. Was in the penalty box for the first Jets goal, than was among those beaten on the powerplay goal that made it 4-2. Oilers had just 41% of the shot attempts and 44% of the shots on goal during his 28 minutes at 5v5.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. Was in beast mode in the first period, when he fired 5 shots including both Oilers goals, had a takeaway, and landed 3 crunching hits. The first goal was a slick play to jump on a deflected puck, dangle it behind the icing line and around Connor Hellebuyck, then deftly tuck it home. The second, a deadly finish on the 5-on-3 when he jumped on a rebound and slammed it home, this after drawing the penalty that led to the two-man advantage. Made a great cross-ice pass to Kassian for the 3-1, seemingly a killer goal late in the second, a minute after the Jets had cut the lead in half. But struggled on the dot (8/19=42%, just 2/8 in the d-zone), including on the penalty kill where his lost draw started the sequence of pain on the 4-2. On that sequence he was unable to clear a contested puck right in front of the cage. Later made a couple of key defensive plays to thwart dangerous looks.
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#41 Mike Smith, 5. A tough grade on a tough night. He made quite a few excellent saves for 2½ periods, and a couple more in the late stages after the Jets had tied it. But he punted out a fat rebound on the 4-3, and was beaten from range on both the game-tying and -winning goals. A bit of a tip right at source on the 4-4, but at that moment the Oilers needed a save and didn’t get one. 37 shots, 32 saves, .865 save percentage.
#44 Zack Kassian, 7. Delivered a strong game, playing a role on two Edmonton goals. His strong presence at the net-front opened room for Draisaitl on the game’s first goal, then he potted the 3-1 himself converting a splendid Draisaitl feed with a fine shot to the top corner. Physically engaged, landing 3 official hits while getting in the face of gigantic Adam Lowry and gigantic-er Logan Stanley. Some strange defensive positioning at times but nothing that proved costly, at least on the goal front.
#56 Kailer Yamamoto, 6. A spirited effort as the tiniest member of a tiny line with Haas and Ennis. Ran over pesky Neal Pionk in one of the game’s happier moments. Earned an assist on the Draisaitl powerplay goal when his shot produced a greasy rebound. Had a great chance to win it in OT when Haas got him the puck right in the low slot, but was unable to solve Hellebuyck on either the original drive or its close-in rebound.
#63 Tyler Ennis, 5. Played with some jump, but produced just 1 shot on net and was involved in 0 dangerous chances.
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#70 Dmitry Kulikov, 4. His bad pass into Archibald’s skates played a key role on the 4-3, exacerbated when Kulikov himself chased the play into the high slot, leaving the eventual goal scorer a clear path to the net. Beaten one-on-one by Andrew Copp for a highly dangerous chance in overtime, seconds before the goal was scored.
#71 Ryan McLeod, 5. Played a decent enough game at 2C, skating hard and transporting the puck well. Had 2 shots on net, neither of them dangerous. Was involved in 0 Grade A chances for, 2 against. Just 1/6=17% on the dot.
#74 Ethan Bear, 4. Promoted to the first pair, where he played 26 minutes, a season high. Fired 4 shots on net and contributed to 2 Grade A chances at the good end. But had his issues behind his own blueline, losing a number of puck battles along the walls and being among the defensive culprits on 5 such chances for the Jets. The most glaring of them a bad cross-ice pass under no pressure that should have been an easy out but instead resulted in a Jets breakaway chance. Hard to tell if the 4-2 goal that bounced in off his glove might have gone in anyway, but is sure didn’t end well.
#91 Gaetan Haas, 5. A decent, low-event game, highlighted by a won battle in overtime that set up Yamamoto’s pair of chances. 1 shot on net and just 2/7=29% on the dot in 11½ minutes of action.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 6. Among the few Oilers who saved his best for the late stages, producing 4 of his 6 shots on net after the Jets had tied the score. The best of these was a brilliant deflection of Barrie’s outside shot that forced an outstanding stop by Hellebuyck. The only Oiler who didn’t get crushed on the dot (4/5=80%).
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#97 Connor McDavid, 7. Had it going on in the early stages, earning secondary assists on the first three Oilers tallies. Chipped in on 10 Grade A chances for the Oil. The siren went off a second too early on what might have been his best shooting opportunity at the tail end of the middle frame. But his game deserted him down the stretch, notably with an unforced giveaway on the tying goal that is hard to explain. That killer tally came just 16 seconds after the Jets had cut the lead to one. After that, his line struggled mightily to clear their own zone let alone produce an organized attack leading to a dangerous opportunity.
Recently at the Cult of Hockey
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STAPLES: Oilers loss in Game 2 puts the club in a deep, deep hole
LEAVINS: Nicked up Jets best Oilers in Game 1
McCURDY: The McDavid-Draisaitl question
Follow me on Twitter @BruceMcCurdy
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2021-05-24 06:12:30Z
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