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Senators 1, Oilers 3
It wasn’t the prettiest of games at Rogers Place on Saturday night, but the Edmonton Oilers did enough things right to earn the 2 points. Sniper Zach Hyman and playmaker Evan Bouchard teamed up on all 3 Edmonton goals, while Stuart Skinner took care of business at the defensive end allowing but a single tally. That combination was enough to lift the Oil to a 3-1 win over Ottawa Senators.
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The Oilers certainly created plenty of offensive looks, outshooting the visitors 46-30 while compiling a massive 26-10 advantage in Grade A Shots including 11-3 in 5-alarm chances (running count). Lots of “A-minus” type chances in there as execution was off just a smidge, often because an opponent had a stick or skate in the lane to at least disrupt things, but sometimes because things weren’t quite clicking.
But a win is a win, and this one was Edmonton’s seventh in succession; they’re not all going to be masterpieces. It was also their 20th of the season, moving them into the top wild card position in terms of points percentage.
Player grades
#2 Evan Bouchard, 7. Delivered in the game’s key moments. His powerplay point shot through traffic finally broke a scoreless tie in the game’s 39th minute, even as Hyman was ultimately credited with a deflection on the play. Survived a scary collision at the end of the second when his face got bounced off a seam in the glass, leading to a nasty cut and a certain amount of leakage during a gutsy third period. Made a fine recovery and quick lead pass to a breaking Hyman for the 2-0 at even strength. Took a marginal though entirely unnecessary interference penalty midway in the third. Was part of the problem on the 1 Ottawa tally when he was unable to contain Brady Tkachuk’s drive to the net front. Helped get that back with a secondary assist on the 3-1. Played 23:24 in all situations to lead the Oilers. Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +3/-4; Special Teams (+2/-0).
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#5 Cody Ceci, 6. Did his best work on the penalty kill, playing a team-high 3:02 on a unit that killed off a double minor in the first, then a key single minor midway through the third. Made a terrific shot block during the latter on a Tim Stutzle drive that appeared labelled for the far corner. He too took one for the team when he blocked an outside shot with his face, but didn’t miss a shift. Made a curcial clear from the edge of the crease to put out a fire. 5 blocks in all to lead both teams. GAS: ES +2/-2; ST +0/-0.
#10 Derek Ryan, 5. Nothing doing offensively on this night, indeed Oilers got outshot 6-1 during his 8:23 at evens. But was strong on the PK and held his own as the Oilers’ only right-shot faceoff man, winning 6/11=55%. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-0.
#13 Mattias Janmark, 5. Not at his best managing the puck, but survived a few nervous moments. He too played ~2 minutes on the PK, allowing little while getting a shorthanded breakaway of his own which he was unable to finish. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +1/-0.
#14 Mattias Ekholm, 6. Mostly solid, though he was part of the problem on the Sens’ goal. Solid shot shares and some good moments moving the puck. Drilled Vladimir Tarasenko with a heavy hit. GAS: ES +3/-3; ST +0/-0.
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#18 Zach Hyman, 9. Looked after all the scoring with a pair of goal-mouth deflections and an outside shot on the rush that somehow got through Anton Forsberg (who otherwise had a strong game). Had a splendid night on the powerplay, where he was credited with 6 of Edmonton’s 9 shots and made a lovely pass to set up Draisaitl for another. Had 8 shots in all situations to co-lead the team, while involved in a whopping 12 Grade A shots at the good end and none at all at the bad. Already has 25 goals on the season. GAS: ES +6/-0; ST +6/-0.
#21 Adam Erne, 5. Brought the physicality with 5 hits on a night no other Oiler had more than 1, and did that in just 6:40 of ice time. Had a dangerous deflection from close range. Was among those beaten on the Ottawa goal, however.
#25 Darnell Nurse, 7. Had a splendid night on the PK, on which he played 3:01. Made 3 separate zone clears on the double minor, and enabled a fourth with an excellent in-zone pass to Brown that keyed a rush the other way. Made a key shot block early in the third. 2 shots. GAS: ES +1/-2; ST +0/-0.
#27 Brett Kulak, 5. Quiet, low-key, mostly in control. Nothing happening at either end of the sheet. Played just 13:07, fully 4½ minutes fewer than his partner Desharnais. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0.
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#28 Connor Brown, 6. Played a strong 2-way game, especially in the third period. Excellent on the PK, where he allowed nothing while setting up Janmark’s breakaway with a lovely lob pass. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +1/-0.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 6. Relatively quiet night, even as his line carried the play with a 13-6 advantage in shots.. Held a similar edge (13/19=68%) on the faceoff dot, including a key win that set the table for the late powerplay goal that sealed the deal. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +3/-0.
#37 Warren Foegele, 6. Another industrious game that included 4 shots and 7 attempts in 15 minutes of action. Did have a couple of turnovers and a somewhat clumsy collision with Nurse that resulted in a jailbreak the other way. Drew a pair of penalties in the third, with the refs actually calling the second one. That set the table for the clincher. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +0/-0.
#57 James Hamblin, 5. Played a team-low 6:18 with little impact, sawing off in shot attempts, shots and scoring chances. Blanks in the Event Summary under shots, hits, and faceoff wins are not apt to turn heads his way, but he continues to hang on to an NHL job and has already beaten the odds by playing in the last 26 games. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0.
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#71 Ryan McLeod, 6. Came close to opening the scoring in the opening minutes, which has become something of a specialty of his. Skated well, chipped in on the PK, 3 shots. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +0/-0.
#73 Vincent Desharnais, 6. A tower of power along the walls and in the low slot. Not perfect with the puck on his stick, but many more good touches than bad ones. Solid on the penalty kill. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0.
#74 Stuart Skinner, 8. Another in a series of strong performances, even as he had plenty of help from his friends who allowed just 3x 5-alarm chances. He too chipped in on the penalty kill with 5/5 saves. Lost his shutout with 5 minutes left, but guided the ship home. Saved 1.75 goals above expected. 30 shots, 29 saves, .967 save percentage.
#91 Evander Kane, 5. His 4-minute penalty for a somewhat unlucky high-sticking infraction was a potential turning point, but his mates turned it right back with an expert kill. Had some good offensive moments with 5 shots, and was flat-out robbed on a close-in chance and its rebound in the dying minutes. Played just 14:14. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST +0/-0.
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#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Struggled with puck management behind his own blueline, failing to clear the zone more than once. Hard to argue, however, with a shot share of +14/-5 at even strength, an assist on the powerplay, and 2:22 on the PK to lead the forward corps. 6 shots on net. Drew a penalty. GAS: ES +7/-1; ST +4/-0.
#97 Connor McDavid, 8. The puck was moving in the right direction when he was out there, with the Oilers outshooting the Sens 14-7 at 5v5 even as the goals were tough to come by. Drew the penalty that led to the game’s first goal. A couple of weird decisions to pass the puck from good shooting position on 2-on-1 rushes with first Draisaitl, then Hyman in the third, but did muster 8 shots on goal along the way to co-lead the team. Despite the strong flow-of-play he couldn’t get anything to go until late in the third, when his perfect powerplay pass found Hyman’s blade for the deflection that ended the suspense. 8 shots, 3 (of Oilers’ 5) takeaways, 8/14=57% on the dot, and these terrific Grade A shots tallies: ES +7/-0; ST +4/-0.
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2024-01-07 09:28:27Z
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