Rabu, 26 April 2023

Edmonton Oilers force the L.A. Kings to the brink with a commanding 6-3 win in Game 5: Cult of Hockey Player Grades - Edmonton Journal

The Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) scores his second goal of the game while being checked by the Los Angeles Kings' Mikey Anderson (44) during third period NHL playoff action at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Tuesday April 25, 2023. The Oilers won 6-3.
The Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) scores his second goal of the game while being checked by the Los Angeles Kings' Mikey Anderson (44) during third period NHL playoff action at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Tuesday April 25, 2023. The Oilers won 6-3. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

The Edmonton Oilers have pushed the Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Kings to the brink of elimination with a dominant 6-3 victory in Game 6 at Rogers Place. Edmonton scored early and never trailed.

The script was flipped from a year ago when L.A. seemingly took command of that series only to lose in a Game 7. Only, this time, it is set up for the Oilers to clinch.

And a loud & rowdy Rogers Place was also effective in the role of the “7th man” in this one.

Here is the tale of the tape…

Cult of Hockey Player Grades

STUART SKINNER. 7. Looked a little shaky early with a few healthy rebounds squirting free. But settled in after that. Big, point-blank save off Moore in the 2nd. Stopped Durzi on a dangerous 3rd Period chance. His best save may have been a glove snapping away a would-be goal off the stick of Kempe in the final frame. Bled a huge rebound on a shot by Iafallo in the 3rd but swallowed up the rebound. No real chance to prevent any of the 3 that got by him. Stopped 25 of 28 for the victory, a nice comeback after being pulled in Game 4.

CONNOR McDAVID. 6. Funneled a perfect pass from behind the net to a waiting Draisaitl for the 2-0 but that only tells part of the story of a dominant shift by 97, 29 and 91. Drew a 1st Period PP. Left his man in the slot and it was that same man who kept going to the crease to put home the 2-1. And had a chance at the puck along the wall on the 3-2 but did not get to it. Did remove a puck sitting at the crease after it had hit the post. Could not bury a chance early in the 2nd after Draisaitl hit him with a pass in full flight. Earned a secondary assist on the 5-2. Then, one of a number of Oilers at-fault on the 6-3. Good, not great, but with a complete effort up and down the lineup that was enough.

EVANDER KANE. 7. Was a menace out there. 6 hits. The best one was when he left Roy on the seat of his pants with a heavy body slam in the Kings zone. Fired a rocket of a snapshot over Korpisalo’s glove hand for the 1-0. Tremendous job spilling time off the clock with an end-to-end-to-end ragging of the puck. 3 shots.

ZACH HYMAN. 6. Did his best Pele imitation by heading home a Bouchard shot from the point for the 5-2. Went hard to the net on the 6-2. 6 hits.

DARNELL NURSE. 8. A strong performance. Fed Evander Kane for the shot that put the Oilers ahead 1-0. Could not take his man into the boards until a pass was thrown into the middle that turned into the 3-2. He and Nugent turned the puck over along the wall in the 2nd. A well-earned assist with an excellent retrieval on the 4-2. Took the club’s only minor and his mates killed it off. 5 hits. 5 blocks. 2 Assists in 21:02. The game’s 1st Star.

CODY CECI. 6. Got caught in no man’s land on the 3-2. Hobbled by a shot block late in the 1st but returned. Floated a seeing-eye shot from the point which was expertly deflected home 5-hole by Bjugstad. Effective defensive stop on Arvidsson in the 3rd. Bent but did not break: Scoring Chances For/Against were 5-14 on his watch but only allowed two HDSC’s.

LEON DRAISAITL. 7. Managed to rake home the 2-0 first by setting up at the top of the crease and then banging a McDavid pass from behind the net through Korpisalo. Terrific pass funneled through to McDavid for a chance early in the 2nd. Turned in a dominant shift just in advance of the 4-2 goal. Part of the hard, heavy sequence on the 5-2. Got puck watching on the 6-3. Led a Edmonton skaters in TOI at 21:38. 5 shots. 69% on draws also led Edmonton. Was a serious handful for the Kings’ defenders.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. Rang the post in the 1st. Giveaway along the wall in his own zone in the 2nd. Smart play to force the puck out on the PK in the 3rd. Excellent rush up the ice and then fed Bjugstad whose back-hand deflected in for the 6-2 which effectively iced this one away. Some signs of him coming out of his mini-slump.

KAILER YAMAMOTO. 4. Had the presence of mind to be back to cover but was nonetheless turnstiled by Kempe on the 3-2. Crushed in shot shares. A shot, a hit, -1. Cannot seem to get on track. Was solid on the PK.

MATTIAS EKHOLM. 7. Surveyed the zone then fed Nurse who dropped it over to Kane for the kill shot on the 1-0. Also earned the secondary assist on the 2-0 with a smart retrieval on the play. Turned the puck over along the wall on the 6-3. Scoring Chances 9-4 in favor on his watch. He delivers “calm” in his own zone.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 6. His soft turnover at his own blueline led directly to the 2-1. Came back with a heavy hit on Kempe in the neutral zone. His shot from the point deflected off Hyman’s face and in for the 5-2. Slow to his man and then could not intercept the pass on the 6-3. Smart defensive play on Kopitar deep in his own zone in the 3rd.

NICK BJUGSTAD. 8. Elevated in the lineup and he was flat-out excellent. His deflection of Ceci’s seeing-eye point shot dropped between Korpisalo’s legs and in for the 4-2, chasing the Kings starting netminder. Then, flung a backhand to the net and into the feet of the charging Zach Hyman. Dropped Doughty with a heavy 3rd Period check. Numerous smart plays in heavy traffic in his own zone. 3 shots, 6 hits. His acquisition looks better and better all the time.

RYAN McLEOD. 6. A bullet pass in front to Kulak back-door for the 3-1. 2 shots of his own, and more physical than he typically is (4 hits). Good on the PK. Good, quick boots.

WARREN FOEGELE. 6. A lot of demanding work along the walls. Secondary assist on the 3-1. Absorbed a filthy crosscheck right in the numbers in the 3rd. I thought that should have been more than just a minor.

BRETT KULAK. 8. Back-to-back terrific games. Skated miles and miles. Notched his 1st career Stanley Cup Playoff goal by sneaking in from the point back-door and burying a perfect pass from Ryan McLeod for the 3-1. 2 shots in 17:12, not a single High Danger Scoring Chance against with him on the ice 5v5. You will take that from your 5D every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

VINCENT DESHARNAIS. 6. Big bounce back for the big man after a rough outing in Game 4. Could not tip away the pass on the 2-1. Particularly good clear on a 3rd Period PK. 10-10, 50% 5v5 CF. HDSC’s 5v5 3-2. 1:02 on the PK.

DEREK RYAN. 6. Started the sequence on the 3-1 by gaining the zone and dishing off to Kulak who eventually finished that shift with a goal. Smart neutral zone steal which led to chances by Foegele and Mcleod back-to-back.

KLIM KOSTIN. 6. Several strong shifts in the offensive zone in the 1st, just missing a set-up from McDavid and feeding a smart pass that led directly to a Draisaitl chance. Set up Bjugstad later in the Period. Dangerous second period shot off a feed from Broberg. Took a couple very vocal shifts in the final 90 seconds and was an effective peacekeeper against a chippy L.A. bunch. 5 hits on the night.

PHILIP BROBERG. 5. Nice setup for Kostin in the 2nd. Went hard into the boards but shook it off and did not miss a shift. Not much else to report in 8:14 of TOI.

The Oilers now lead the series 3-2. Game 6 is in L.A. on Saturday.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and now on Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social

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2023-04-26 05:04:34Z
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