Player grades: Oilers welcome Ekholm to Edmonton in style, topple Maple Leafs 5-2 - Edmonton Journal

Published Mar 02, 2023 • Last updated 7 hours ago • 7 minute read

Mar 1, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by forward Connor McDavid (97), his second of the game during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports Photo by Perry Nelson /USA TODAY Sports

Maple Leafs 2, Oilers 5

After consecutive one-goal regulation losses to the last- and first-place teams in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers got back on the horse on Wednesday night and rode it to a convincing 5-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Oilers welcomed their latest addition, defenceman Mattias Ekholm, to the line-up with a splendid display of speed, skill and aggressive play, while Ekholm delivered as advertised with a strong defensive presence and some heady plays with the puck.

Edmonton held a narrow 32-28 edge on the shot clock, but had a wide edge in scoring chances. We at the Cult of Hockey had a preliminary count of 12 Grade A shots for the Oilers to 5 for the Leafs, with a resounding 8-1 count in the subset of 5-alarm chances (running count). Meanwhile, the good folks at Natural Stat Trick had the same ratio of High Danger Chances, but double the count: 16-2. Sixteen to two! Only some bad timing prevented a higher score, as the Oilers had 2 goals disallowed by the referee’s whistle.

Player grades

#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. Fit in well with his new partner Ekholm, with whom he played over 12 minutes at evens. Made a nice defensive play at his own net front to break up an early Toronto chance. Passed the puck well for the most part, and frequently. Showed Oilers fans a glimpse of his plus shot when he went post and in on a wrist shot from the slot, only to have the apparent goal waved off due to a simultaneous (legit) interference call on McDavid. Thus extended his goalless drought to 40 games, but (it says here) the end is nigh.

#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Made a bad mental error on the first Toronto goal when he let up on a play after an apparent offside that hadn’t been whistled down. Still hasn’t. The coaching staff decided not to challenge as they saw no definitive angle that would cause the call on the ice to be overturned. But Ceci made up for that mistake later in the period when he made a sharp clearance of a loose puck on the doorstep and was strong defensively thereafter. Got involved in the offence in the middle frame, when his outside shot was tipped home by Yamamoto.

#10 Derek Ryan, 5. Crafty vet took some shifts with McDavid and Hyman with good results. Strong possession numbers. Among those burned on the Toronto powerplay goal.

#14 Mattias Ekholm, 7. Arrived mid-afternoon having missed the morning skate, meaning the game was literally the first time he skated with his new mates. Responded like a champ — steady on the back end, “calm feet”, reliable with the puck. Really used the boards to advantage at times, be it squeezing out opponents or creating a variety of wall passes and clearances. Showed some capacity for being involved on offence, especially on the cycle, and earned the primary assist on Hyman’s game winner. Fine slap pass up the boards that sent Draisaitl and Hyman in 2-on-1 for a chance that barely failed. Beaten on the Toronto PP goal when he allowed Mitch Marner’s outside shot to get through. 2 shots, 2 blocks, 3 hits and an enduring sense of calm, not to mention a fantastic Viking beard.

#18 Zach Hyman, 8. Just the sight of his old blue-and-whites was enough to kick his game back into high gear after a couple of so-so outings. Oilers dominated possession and shot shares during his time. Assisted on McDavid’s 2-1 goal, then scored the 3-1 tally himself on a fine second effort. Had several chances for more including a couple of partial breakaways. Took a bad penalty in the third, but that was his only significant mistake. and his mates had his back with a strong kill. 22:30 to lead al forwards, 1-1-2, +2 with 12 shot attempts, 7 of them on goal.

#19 Devin Shore, 6. Had a great chance from the edge of the crease off a terrific Draisaitl feed. Made a good takeaway at the Toronto blueline to thwart the breakout that played an early role in the 2-1 goal. Made a fine solo rush late. 3 shots, 1 hit in 9 effective minutes.

#21 Klim Kostin, 7. Strong night’s work with 1-1-2, +2 in just 9:25 of action. Chipped in on 4 Grade A shots, 0 against. Played a robust game with 6 hits and was on the receiving end of a couple more. His goal was a real beauty, a high-skill 3-way passing play involving Foegele and McLeod that he buried. Made another solo charge on net that nearly panned out. Seems finally to be bouncing back from his extended illness.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 7. Logged 24:56 with 5 shots and 6 blocks. Skated miles. Among those beaten on the lone even-strength goal by Toronto, but made up for that with an assist on Yamamoto’s 4-1 goal. Excellent shot shares.

#26 Mattias Janmark, 5. Quiet but largely effective. Played a team-high 3:38 on the PK and maintained a clean sheet. Made a fine shot block on an Auston Matthews drive.

#27 Brett Kulak, 5. Among those who saw his ice time reduced due to the addition of a fourth left d-man. Played just 12:44, posting 1 shot, 1 hit, +1. Made a fine 1v1 stop against the dangerous William Nylander.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. All over the ice in the first half of the game especially, skating well and winning more than his share of battles. Made a number of excellent passes leading to Grade A shots, by Shore, Nurse, Hyman, McDavid, along with an early role in the Yamamoto goal. His backhand feed to Shore after twice circling the offensive zone with the puck was a thing of beauty. Played with some real edge as well, engaging the “stinky glove” on Leafs pest Michael Bunting and mashing Marner with a heavy hit along the side wall. Just 8/21=38% on the dot, though.

#37 Warren Foegele, 7. Another fine game from the winger, skating well and all over the puck. 3 more takeaways to add to his impressive total. Delivered a great pass to McLeod after a steal that forced a fine stop. Made a lovely saucer pass to McLeod that set the stage for Kostin’s goal. ROBBED out of one of his own when referee Frederick L’Ecuyer blew a ridiculously early whistle on a loose rebound that Foegele tapped home. That would have been the first goal scored by Edmonton’s second PP unit this entire season, but no.

#56 Kailer Yamamoto, 7. Proactive game with 4 shots, including a goal scored on his specialty, the deflection. Added 2 hits. Was on the receiving end of a high hit that ended his night early, in concussion protocol. Appeared to be OK, but time will tell.

#71 Ryan McLeod, 6. Skated himself into trouble on a late first-period shift, or should I say he failed to skate himself out of trouble when the lane was there, instead circling back only to lose the puck under pressure. But turned on the jets thereafter. Robbed by a right pad save by Samsonov after being set up by Foegele and firing a hard one-timer from close range. Was the middleman on the terrific Kostin goal, taking Foegele’s aerial pass, driving around the defenceman with a lovely feint and hitting Kostin with an inch-perfect backhand feed across the slot.

#73 Vincent Desharnais, 6. Played a surprising 14:54 as the de facto 3RD. Strong. Stable. Snarly.

#74 Stuart Skinner, 7. His best work was dealing with the traffic around the blue paint, and making sure that no rebounds dropped in the vicinity. 28 shots, 26 saves, .929 save percentage, W.

#86 Philip Broberg, 6. Like Kulak, he found his ice time reduced due to the presence of 2 solid top 4 defenders on the left side. Made the most of what time he had, landing 5 hits and posting excellent shot shares. Drew a penalty charged to Jake McCabe, the 29-year-old d-man Leafs just got from Chicago, leading to the games first goal. Fun fact: Broberg, an NHL rookie, has more playoff experience (1 game, 3:16 TOI) than does the veteran McCabe (0 GP).

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 8. Terrific backcheck on Marner’s shorthanded rush, engaging the Leafs star at the blueline, relieving him of the puck, then sending the disc back north where McDavid and Draisaitl did the rest on the 1-0. Was the closest teammate when Yamamoto, struggling with “upper body” injuries all year, took a high, heavy hit by Justin Holl. RNH immediately challenged Holl and both dropped the gloves for a short but action-packed tilt that Nuge won decisively.

#97 Connor McDavid, 9. Came out with fire in his eyes from the get-go and wasted little time in potting 2 goals that put the Oilers ahead to stay. In the process became just the fifth player in NHL history (Joe Malone, Punch Broadbent, Mario Lemieux, Alex Mogilny, now McDavid) and the first this century to score multiple goals in 5 consecutive games. Added an assist. Made a deft goal line save at the other end. Took a couple of heavy hits but just kept on going. Continues to dominate with skating chops that defenders simply cannot match. His 90° cut to the left on his second goal was esepcially brilliant. Took 2 penalties, drew 1. At the end of the first he had scored 16 points in his last 11 periods!

Recently at the Cult of Hockey

McCURDY: Major changes in Oilers’ D-ployment after trade

STAPLES: Bouchard has his chance to shine with Ekholm, and without Barrie

STAPLES: Oilers acquire Ekholm for Barrie, top picks

McCURDY: Puljujarvi traded to Carolina

STAPLES: Player grades — McDavid’s brilliance not enough vs. Bruins

McCURDY: Running to stand still — a review of Games 51-60

LEAVINS: Time for Holland to do what needs doing — 9 Things

Follow me on Twitter @BruceMcCurdy

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Join the Conversation

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL2VkbW9udG9uam91cm5hbC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvY3VsdC1vZi1ob2NrZXkvcGxheWVyLWdyYWRlcy1vaWxlcnMtd2VsY29tZS1la2hvbG0tdG8tZWRtb250b24taW4tc3R5bGUtdG9wcGxlLW1hcGxlLWxlYWZzLTUtMtIBugFodHRwczovL2VkbW9udG9uam91cm5hbC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvY3VsdC1vZi1ob2NrZXkvcGxheWVyLWdyYWRlcy1vaWxlcnMtd2VsY29tZS1la2hvbG0tdG8tZWRtb250b24taW4tc3R5bGUtdG9wcGxlLW1hcGxlLWxlYWZzLTUtMi93Y20vZmI0MjZhMjktNGJjZC00ZTJiLWI3Y2YtZGFmZTA5MzE1ODNmL2FtcC8?oc=5

2023-03-02 09:15:50Z
1801458613

Tinam Polo

Kamis, 02 Maret 2023