Article content
The Edmonton Oilers did not bring their “A” game to Rogers Place on Tuesday night.
On the other hand, the Montreal Canadiens showed up game for a battle and gave the Oilers all they could handle in a 3-2 OT win for Edmonton. Leon Draisaitl drilled home the winner from his familiar spot, on a 1-timer on the Power Play (a 4-minute one that started late in the 3rd).
Article content
It could be argued that Edmonton’s best player was Calvin Pickard, who stopped 23 of 25…a number of them of the Grade “A” variety.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Here is the tale of the tape…
Edmonton Oilers Player Grades
CALVIN PICKARD. 8. Two strong, early saves on Armia. Got a piece of one on the Habs’ PP before it clinked off the post and out. Blocker-ed away a dangerous shot from Anderson in the 2nd. A well-timed poke check kept a loose puck away from Gallagher. Big pad save on Harvey-Pinard in the 2nd. A solid block on Roy to end the 2nd. Little chance on Montreal’s greasy 2-1 goal early in the 3rd. Got a piece of the 2-2 goal but Guhle was bearing down on him with no Oilers in sight. Stopped Anderson after a turnover deep in the 3rd Period. Pickard and Mattias Ekholm were Edmonton’s two best players.
CONNOR McDAVID. 7. Picked up a puck knocked loose by Ekholm along the wall, beat a man clean then deked the goaltender right-to-left for the 1-0. Looked like he may have had the 2-0 as well as his shot slipped through 5-hole, but the Habs’ defender Guhle swept it to safety. Circled the wagons in the 2nd then fed Ekholm for a chance. Hustled back (without one glove which had been “removed” by an attacker) to ultimately stymie a Montreal 3-on-1 after the puck his skate and cleared the zone. Terrific O-zone retrieval in OT, dished to Nurse and then again to Draisaitl for the game winner. 9 (yes, 9!) shots.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
EVANDER KANE. 6. A dangerous early chance right in the deep slot off a pass from Hyman. Net front on the 1-0, giving McDavid some room on his route to the net. Nearly made it 3-2 off a good feed from McLeod and drew a call by keeping his feet moving. Was quite effective.
ZACH HYMAN. 5. Nice pass in front to Kane early. Had a chance at a loose puck in front on a 2nd Period PP. hammered one off the post late in the 3rd. 4 shots,+1. Not as noticeable as he normally is.
DARNELL NURSE. 7. Strong performance. Called for a weak tripping call in the 1st made by the back referee. But Nurse’s mates killed it off. Strong stick at his own blueline on a 2nd Period PK. Swallowed up a loose puck after a turnover by his own goalie. Excellent pass to McDavid in the high slot on the OT winner, Nurse earning the secondary assist. Only allowed one 5v5 Grade A chance against on his watch.
TROY STECHER. 5. Solid. The zone entry on the eventual 2-0. 2 hits. Only a single Grade A against 5v5.
LEON DRAISAITL. 6. Leon Draisaitl was the better of this trio which over-all struggled tonight. But he too was off a half-turn. Split two defenders as he was bearing down on the Montreal net in the 2nd, but the puck chipped off his stick at the last second. 2nd Period shot off a McDavid pass. Took a hooking call, erasing a 3rd Period 4v4. Slick pass to Hyman late in the 3rd by Hyman hit the post. Hammered home the Overtime winner from just a stride or two above the goal line off a fine feed from McDavid. A rare night below 50% on the dot.
Advertisement 4
Article content
RYAN McLEOD. 3. Off night. Whistled for a trip that he flat-out did not commit but the Oilers killed it off. Drilled in shot shares. Scoring Chances 5v5 3-6 on his watch.
WARREN FOEGELE. 4. Struggled. Turned the puck over up the wall in the 3rd leading to a chance against. A microcosm of an off night for him as well.
MATTIAS EKHOLM. 9. Played just a tremendous game. His aggressive pinch up the left side jarred the puck loose and McDavid did the rest on the 1-0. Excellent 2nd Period chance off a long developing set-up from McDavid. Activated from the blueline then filtered a terrific pass back-door to Henrique in the slot for the 2-0. High Dangers 4-2 5v5. 2 hits, +2 in 21:07. Edmonton’s best skater tonight.
EVAN BOUCHARD. 7. Hard back-check erased a break when he was pick-pocketed at the attacking blueline. Sharp cross-ice pass for a secondary assist on the 2-0. That was his 50th assist of the season, only he and the great Paul Coffey have hit that mark in Oilers silks. 2 good shots on a 2nd Period PP. Late to release his man in the middle, leaving all of the left-hand side of the ice on the 3rd period 4v4 and Montreal capitalized on the open ice with the 2-2. On balance, though, he was quite good.
Advertisement 5
Article content
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 5. Could not convert a fine setup from Henrique in front. Solid defensively over 2 periods. Neither he nor Ceci could haul in the goal scorer on the 2-1, but Ceci was primarily at fault. Just o.k.
ADAM HENRIQUE. 6. Good feed in front to Nugent-Hopkins who chipped it wide. Scored his 1st as an Oiler by getting superior positioning on his man in front and then backhanding a terrific pass from Ekholm home for the 2-0. Drew the Montreal double minor which eventually produced the game winner. 50% on draws. 3 hits.
DEREK RYAN 4. Drew a roughing call in the 2nd. Credited with 3 hits. -1.
BRETT KULAK. 6. Strong, hard play on Gallagher right in front. Sharp pick-off & clear in the 2nd. Caught in no-man’s land after Ceci went on a walk-about on the 2-1 goal. Drew a 3rd Period trip with some challenging work deep in his own zone. By far the better of the two on this pair tonight.
CODY CECI. 4. Rough game. Over-committed on a Montreal rush early in the 3rd, then did not track down his man until a split-second after the puck had pinballed into the net for the 2-1. 3rd Period blocked shot. A miserable 6-21, 22% 5v5. Did have 6 hits.
Advertisement 6
Article content
SAM CARRICK. 5. Give him the edge in a spirited scrap with Pezzetta early in the 1st. A block & clear on a 2nd Period PK. Good puck strip, too. Fine 3rd Period intercept and clear.
MATTIAS JANMARK. 4. Quiet, quiet game. Crushed in shot shares (5v5 CF 5-13, 28%).
COREY PERRY. 4. Good defensive stick in the 1st. Made some good things happen along the walls late in the 3rd. But a generally quiet night.
Edmonton’s record now sits at 41-21-4, 86 points. They are 2nd in the Pacific, 8 back of Vancouver with 3 games in hand.
Find me on Threads @kleavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social, and X @KurtLeavins.
Recently, at The Cult…
McCURDY: Edmonton Oilers sign college free agent goaltender
STAPLES: Oilers appear to have answered the questions in net
Article content
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinQFodHRwczovL2VkbW9udG9uam91cm5hbC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvY3VsdC1vZi1ob2NrZXkvZWRtb250b24tb2lsZXJzLW1hbmFnZS10by1ob2xkLW9mZi1wbHVja3ktY2FuYWRpZW5zLXdpdGgtMy0yLW90LXdpbi1jdWx0LW9mLWhvY2tleS1wbGF5ZXItZ3JhZGVz0gEA?oc=5
2024-03-20 04:52:30Z
CBMinQFodHRwczovL2VkbW9udG9uam91cm5hbC5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvY3VsdC1vZi1ob2NrZXkvZWRtb250b24tb2lsZXJzLW1hbmFnZS10by1ob2xkLW9mZi1wbHVja3ktY2FuYWRpZW5zLXdpdGgtMy0yLW90LXdpbi1jdWx0LW9mLWhvY2tleS1wbGF5ZXItZ3JhZGVz0gEA
Comments