That had to be the most fun, messed up and glorious Edmonton Oilers win in a few years.
If anyone ever wonders what NHL hockey was like in the 1980s, Edmonton’s 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Kings is the answer, a messy, thrilling, free-wheeling, mistake-waiting-to-happen, blistering barn burner, with eruptions of madness right down to the final seconds.
I’m pretty sure I gave an extra mark to every Oilers players in my game grades just based on the dopamine hit that victory gave me.
This is a game that the Oilers would not and could not have won in the past two seasons but an infusion of speed and skill allowed them to repeatedly come back from their own bungling in the game.
The Oilers big guns were huge in this one, but so were skilled role players like Joakim Nygard, Gaetan Haas, Tomas Jurco and reborn gunner James Neal.
Of course, the Oilers almost found a way to lose this one, making numerous awful miscues. They came out strong and got an early lead, but quickly had their tires flattened by two Mike Smith turnovers.
“He’s unusual because he plays the puck so much,” Hockey Night in Canada’s Kelly Hrudey said of Smith after the first period. “For a guy like Mike Smith he’s probably going to give up the puck eight-to-twelve times (on goals against) in a year. So two are already done.”
Other screw ups? A too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty in the third and a broken stick on the PK led to a nasty Los Angeles goal by Drew Doughty. Ugh.
Then there was Leon Draisaitl giving up an easy empty net goal by trying to feed James Neal instead of an open Darnell Nurse, with Neal then taking a terrible offensive zone tripping penalty.
But Edmonton kept bouncing back in a rare game where the officials actually called tripping and interference penalties on the Kings.
In the end, Edmonton had 12 Grade A chances, while the Kings had 14 (running count).
Connor McDavid, 8. A four point night. Banked in a goal on a lightning fast rush to start the game, then drew a penalty on Doughty on another rush a moment later. Drew another key penalty late in the game, as if this were Christmas and not a game against the Kings. But McD was weak, weak, weak on checking Anze Kopitar on third L.A. goal. He made up for it in the second period, deftly winning a puck battle and feeding Draisaitl in the slot, who then set up Kassian on a beautiful feed. He moved fast and was dangerous all night.
Leon Draisaitl, 9. Magical pass to Kassian on Edmonton’s third goal. He left a Kings attacker wide open moving into the slot for a dangerous chance late in the first period. He drew a sweet penalty from Dustin Brown in the third, where he simply stumbled over Brown; payback for all the cheap ones Brown has gotten away with over the years. Best of all, a moment later, Edmonton scored to tie the game. Big Drai made a key stop on L.A.’s 5-on-3 in the third, tipping the puck out of the Oilers’ zone, which had me yelling on the couch, “Yes! Double Yes! Triple Yes!” It was that work on the PK that pushed Drai’s score so high, that and him playing more than 26 minutes.
Zack Kassian, 7. Muffed on an open power play look early in the game after a sweet set up by Joakim Nygard and Ethan Bear. But he didn’t muff his chance in the second, pounding in Edmonton’s third goal. Playing his best hockey as an Oiler right now.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 6. He led a second line that had some good moments on the attack. But he jumped on the ice without McDavid coming off in the third, a huge communication mistake by one or both of them. Threw a nasty and unNuge-like hit on Alex Iafollo.
Joakim Nygard, 7. Some flashy moments on the attack, including going to the net to score Edmonton’s fourth goal in the third. So Nygard is NOT going to have a Rieder of a season. He also let loose with some surprising physical play, recording three hits. Maybe this is the winger that RNH was hoping to find to connect with heading into the year.
James Neal, 8. Sweet Dexter goals, twice taking out the trash in the crease on the power play. Good hands on those plays, very good. Threw his weight around as well. So far, so good on this huge Ken Holland trade.
Jujhar Khaira, 7. Skated hard and made plays. He broke his stick, leading to Doughty’s slapper goal. Should a player in that situation just go get a new stick? Maybe if he’s right by the bench, yes.
Colby Cave, 3. He got beat to the net on L.A’s fourth goal. Ouch.
Patrick Russell, 5. Quiet game.
Markus Granlund, 5. Ditto.
Gaetan Haas, 7. Nifty play off the faceoff, then throwing it at the net on Nygard’s goal.
Tomas Jurco, 7. Sweeter than sugar deke and feed to Nurse on Edmonton’s fifth goal.
Oscar Klefbom, 8. Playing some of his best hockey right now. Some accurate passing in the first period, including the sharp outlet pass that set off McDavid on his goal scoring rush. He gave up too much gap to Dustin Brown on the third L.A. goal. He made a huge play in the second, keeping the puck in the L.A. zone, starting off the virtuous cycle that led to Kassian’s goal. He and Russell got walked by Kopitar on a chance in the third. But, overall, Klefbom just kept the fine passes flowing all game.
Joel Persson, 5. He was soft in coverage late in the first, leading to a pass that permitted a dangerous Kings chance. In the second, Austin Wagner of the Kings sped past him for a scary chance as well. But Persson survived his first game — just barely. His puck moving was his best feature.
Darnell Nurse, 7. Looked much better, much more settled this game. But he was guilty of screening Smith on Doughty’s goal. Redeemed himself right away by draining a feed from Jurco.
Ethan Bear, 6. He moved the puck well, but got caught flatfooted on a couple of chances against early in the second. Meshed well with Nurse.
Kris Russell, 6. He made a solid stop on a half-break by Adrian Kempe in the second period. In his new role on the left side, he’s getting the job done OK as a puckmover.
Matt Benning, 5. Quiet game, which is a good thing for a bottom-pairing d-man. Played just 13:30.
Mike Smith, 6. I’m giving him marks for the win, the bounce back and some huge saves as the game went on. Double face palm on the first two Los Angeles goals, especially as the Oilers were taking the game to the Kings in a big way early in the game. But Smith really did battle back with some excellent saves in the third, including on a scintillating cross-seam one-timer stop on an Edmonton penalty kill. He also made a fine save on the Wagner breakaway. And he had a strong clearance late in the second when the Kopitar line was putting on pressure. He had another huge save after Kopitar beat Klefbom and Russell on the rush in the third. And those two saves in tight in the last five seconds were epic, as hockey saves go.
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October 06, 2019 at 12:48PM
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