Player grades: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and all Edmonton Oilers shine in huge win over Vegas Golden Knights - Edmonton Journal

Sabtu, 23 November 2019

Player grades: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and all Edmonton Oilers shine in huge win over Vegas Golden Knights - Edmonton Journal

The new Edmonton formula for victory kicked in during the Oilers’ hard fought 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.

Strong goaltending, a deadly power play, a puck-moving defence, a touch of depth scoring and the usual brilliance from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl — all the elements were there in the oh-so-solid Edmonton win.

The victory included a shut-down defensive performance by the Oilers in the third period, which was a new wrinkle to the team’s success, which now sees them with 15 wins in 25 games.

When it came to scoring chances, Edmonton had 12 with Vegas putting up eight (running count), with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl chipping in one five each, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, four.

Leon Draisaitl, 8. Three assists, dominating game. After a blown call by the refs on RNH’s near goal in the first, Edmonton really deserved that second goal and Draisaitl made it happen, winning the puck down low, protecting it, then sizzling a backhander to Ethan Bear in the slot. Early in the third, Big Drai hammered a one-timer shot off the post on the power play. On that same power play, Sportsnet announcer Louie DeBrusk talked about some “incredible defending” by Vegas, which was a fair enough assessment, but what I saw was incredible skill and effort by the Oilers, with Draisaitl finally setting up McDavid in the slot for the back-breaking fourth goal. Vegas never really threatened after that.

Connor McDavid, 9. Superb performance, scoring two big goals. He came out ready to fly, not just on offence but on defence. On his first shift, McDavid played the body in the d-zone, a good sign given the defensive struggles of the top line in recent weeks. But the best was yet to come. After some solid board work by Zack Kassian and a sweet feed from Leon Draisaitl, McD moved into the slot and scored the game’s first goal, beating Marc-Andre Fleury across the crease. Cool head, fast feet, brilliant goal by McDavid. He lated drained the fourth goal in the third period. He could have had a few more points, given the speed of his attacking this game. It’s also worth noting that McDavid made no one mistake all night on an even strength Grade A chance against.

Zack Kassian, 7. He is a killer on the boards right now, a major piece of McD and Drai’s success. He chipped in on the first goal, then one shift later threw a dangerous backhander on net, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins screening the goalie. But on the first Grade A chance for Vegas, Kassian both failed to block a pass into the slot or to cover anyone. Yes, he was in that most horrid of all places in the d-zone, the Red Light Zone, neither covering anyone nor blocking a pass or shot. Late in the second, after a lengthy and threatening cycle mainly by McDavid and Draisaitl, he deked his man in the slot and got a second dangerous shot. His third nasty shot came on a two-on-one late in the third set up by a Mike Smith stretch pass. Unlucky not to get a goal but did get two assists.

RNH, 8. He brought his “A” game for sure. He had a good goal taken away from him early in the game when the referee blew the whistle too quickly. He set up Neal on the rush in the slot with a deft pass early in the second, but Neal had the puck poked away. A moment later he set up Josh Archibald cross-seam, but Archibald couldn’t cash in. In the third, his aggressive play at the net pushed the puck to Draisaitl, who set up McDavid on Edmonton’s fourth goal. A few shifts later, he set up James Neal for a Grade A slot shot.

Alex Chiasson, 6. He’s had some quiet games — not good for a forward — but he came out playing tough and hitting hockey. He drove in hard and set up Neal for a solid Grade B scoring chance shot in the first period. A wicked outside blast in the second was only barely saved by Fleury.

James Neal, 7. He had one of his best games as an Oiler, especially at even strength, where he engaged successfully in many numerous physical battles. Early in the first, he threw a nasty hit on Vegas d-man Nic Hague. He was part of the long and virtuous cycle that led to Kassian’s first period backhand chance and RNH’s near goal.

Joakim Nygard, 6. He used his speed a few times to win key pucks in the o-zone, setting up Archibald on one such play, only to have Arch miss on his one-timer slot shot.

Riley Sheahan, 6. He lost a difficult slot battle on a bouncing puck in the first, allowing the first goal against.

Josh Archibald, 5. He over-committed and got deked, allowing a point shot late in the first, kicking off the sequence of pain on the first Vegas goal. For a defensive player, he fails to get it deep on dump-ins a bit too often right now, including one such fail early in the second. He was thwarted when he got an outstanding feed into the slot from RNH, but could not lift the puck over Fleury’s pad. On a few other good looks, he missed the net. He and Kassian led the Oilers with six hits each. I like his hustle, if not always the results.

Markus Granlund, 7. Huge, huge goal in the second, jamming two shots on net in a scrum, the second going in.

Gaetan Haas, 7. Excellent hustle on the Granlund goal, popping the puck loose on the forecheck. He had a great chance of his own on a rush in the third.

Patrick Russell, 6. He too hustled hard and chipped in on the Granlund goal.

Darnell Nurse, 5. He got as deked as deked can be on a Jonathan Marchessault toe-drag into the slot with four seconds left in the first, but Mike Smith saved the Grade A shot. But he otherwise, big Nurse hung in against tough, tough competition.

Ethan Bear, 8. Sure-handed Bear buried Draiaitl’s cross-seam backhand pass in the first. Moved the puck with his usual great skill and even better reads. The kid was also a grizzly bear on defence, making all kinds of gritty stops and winning most of his battles.

Oscar Klefbom, 7. “I think he’s having a Norris-quality year,” said Sportsnet commentator Brian Burke of Klefbom after the first period. High praise. Klefbom did look sharp early in the game, but not Norris-quality on Shea Theodore’s goal-scoring rush into the slot, where Klefbom missed the crucial check. Otherwise, Klefbom was his normal super solid self. By the way, he’s no killer on the power play, but you have to give him credit for quickly and deftly distributing the puck to McD, Drai and RNH, the players who are.

Adam Larsson, 5. He had an iffy start to the game. He got caught flat-footed on the boards early on, leading to a dangerous two-on-one chance. A moment later, he got stripped of the puck near the Edmonton net, but RNH moved in fast to shut down a scary moment. Settled down and made a great stretch pass to set up a chance as well as a few crunching hits along the boards in the second period. But then came a stinker sequence for Larsson, first coughing up the puck on a lame dump out, then getting beat by Theodore on the rush. A moment later, after Klefbom was illegally and dangerously drilled from behind by Ryan Reaves into the boards (with no call from the incompetent refs), Larsson allowed a slot pass and Grade A shot.

Caleb Jones, 7. He had a firm defensive check on Shea Theodore bursting down the wing in the first period. He was otherwise solid, skating hard and moving the puck fast. He played 18:04, more than either Russell or Larsson.

Kris Russell, 6. A huge block on a two-on-one slot shot early in the game. Kept it quiet for much the rest of the game, which is good, real good, for an NHL d-man.

Mike Smith, 8. Some crucial saves, some cool puck-moving. Mike Smith at his best, in other words. On his first play of the puck he gave out a big and juicy rebound, not a great signal for a goalie who had an .841 save percentage in his previous four games. But soon enough he redeemed himself making a super save when Max Pacioretty bulled his way into the crease. Next Smith shot out of his pad to block a Shea Theadore one timer blast. He wasn’t to blame on the first goal against, then came up huge on block Marchessault’s snipe to end the first period. Smith had another big test in the second where he stopped William Karlsson’s short-handed breakaway.