The Edmonton Oilers had a strong game on the attack, but got goalied by a hot Joey Daccord in the Seattle Kraken net.
What did the Oilers in, though, in their 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken was their old fatal flaw, the two-on-one rush against, which has been a major issue for Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
The Grade A shots were 17 for Edmonton, nine for Seattle, with the 5-alarm shots seven for the Oilers, two for the Krak (running count)
Cult of Hockey player grades
Connor McDavid, 6. Didn’t click on the attack with his linemates early on. Second period turnover led to a Grade A for Matt Beniers. He got it going late in the second, working hard for Roslovic’s post shot. Had a strong sequence wheeling around the o-zone early in the third. Came close to setting up Tomasek as the clocked ticked down. Grade A shots plus-minus: Even Strength (EV): +4, -1; Special Teams (ST): +1, -0
Ike Howard, 4. The latest player who failed to shine when promoted to play with McDavid. Fired a hard shot off the wing early on. He took a penalty breaking up a dangerous play at the Oilers net. He was late covering Montour on the rush in the third, but Montour hit the side of the net. GrA +/-: EV +0, -0; ST +0, -0
Andrew Mangiapane, 5. Lots of hustle plays. He kept moving his feet and drew a penalty in the second. Allowed a seam pass for a 5-alarmer in the third. GrA +/-: EV +1, -1; ST +1, -0
Leon Draisaitl, 8. Two assists, deserved more points, but deserves got nothing to do with it. On fire, his skating legs going tonight. A scoring chance machine with 10 major contributions. He fired on net from outside on his first shift, then charged in for rebound on the game first Grade A shot. Next he charged again to set up a 5-alarmer by Tomasek, then lashed his trademark Executioner’s Shot on net, then made a backhand seam pass to set up Roslovic for a 5-alarmer one-timer of his own. He slammed a second power play harpoon off the post in the second, then won the puck and set up Bouchard’s goal. Solid backhand pass on Nurse’s scoring sequence. GrA +/-: EV +7, -1; ST +3, -0
Vasily Podkolzin, 5. Won a battle, went to the net hard on Savoie’s second period Grade A. GrA +/-: EV +1, -0; ST +0, -0
Matt Savoie, 5. He’s playing reasonable low event hockey. More on the attack would be nice. He broke up a dangerous PP shot in the first, a slotter that became a dribbler. He ripped a slotter off a Drai pass early in the second. GrA +/-: EV +1, -0; ST +0, -0
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. Looked fast rushing up the ice to set up two Henrique’s Grade As early on. Snapped a break-in wrister off the bar late in the first. He was caught flat-footed at the offensive blueline on Seattle’s second goal rush. GrA +/-: EV +2, -2; ST +2, -0
Jack Roslovic, 7. He’s creating on the attack, but can’t find the net. Took a hard outside shot on net, then set up Draisaitl with a seam pass in the first. Launched a slot harpoon in the first as well. He was muscled away from a shot on a break in, with Oleksiak stick fouling Roslovic more than Bouchard’s first period penalty. Hit the post with one second left in the second period. GrA +/-: EV +4, -1; ST +0, -0
Adam Henrique, 5. He looks good on the wing. Tipped a puck, then jammed a 5-alarm rebound on net off Emberson’s point shot in the first. He lost a foot race on Seattle’s second goal. GrA +/-: EV +3, -1; ST +0, -0
Trent Frederic, 4. A better game, but still nowhere close to an impact game. Seems slow out there. Set up Philp with a good rush up ice in the first. GrA +/-: EV +1, -0; ST +0, -0
Noah Philp, 5. Generally holding his own at centre. Charged hard up the ice and drew a penalty on an early PK rush. Took Frederic’s pass off his skate and almost put it in. GrA +/-: EV +1, -0; ST +0, -0
David Tomasek, 7. He’s getting his chances. Deft hands to take Drai’s pass, spin backwards to forward and launch a wicked shot early on. Launched an outside shot through a screen in the second. He went hard to the net on Bouchard’s first goal of the year. Got Edmonton’s first Grade A of the third, 10 minutes in, a hard wrister off a McD pass. Almost tipped McD’s hard pass into the net with a minute left. GrA +/-: EV +4, -0; ST +1, -0
Mattias Ekholm, 3. Ugly night on defence. He’s in a defensive slump just now. Failed to cut out the pass on Eberle’s early goal rush. A few solid shot blocks late in the first. He lost a battle at the o-zone blueline, kicking off the Sequence of Pain on Seattle’s second goal. He then lost a corner battle leading to a Kartye one-timer. Made another bad pinch to kick off Seattle’s third goal rush. But he kept in the puck on the pinch and fired a fast, tip-able shot on Nurse’s goal. GrA +/-: EV +2, -4; ST +0, -0
Evan Bouchard, 4. Finally a goal! Smoked in Edmonton’s first with a wicked slapper. Perhaps that will help him snap out of his slump. High event, again, in this one, good and bad. Terrible pinch and lost battle in the o-zone, kicking off the Sequence of Pain on Seattle’s first goal. Some solid stick checks to clear a puck on the PK in the first. Cheap penalty call against him in the first when he lifted an opponent’s stick just as the attacker got a pass. He allowed the pass across on Seattle’s second goal. Won a slot battle to thwart Nyman. But turned over the puck on Seattle’s third goal. GrA +/-: EV +1, -3; ST +2, -0
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Darnell Nurse, 8. His best game in two or three weeks. Solid on the attack, helping create a number of good shots. He crashed Hyman’s bane Mason Marchment into the boards with a wicked hit. Excellent tip shot on Edmonton’s second goal. GrA +/-: EV +5, -2; ST +1, -0
Jake Walman, 6. Blocked a hard shot where there was little padding on his leg in the first. Threw a nasty body check on Berkly Catton in the second. GrA +/-: EV +0, -2; ST +0, -0
Brett Kulak, 7. Low event, kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one mistake on a Grade A shot against. The Oil could use more of those from their d-men, eh. He missed the net on a wide-open slot shot in the second. GrA +/-: EV +0, -0; ST +0, -0
Ty Emberson, 7. His best game. Solid attacking early on. Quick shot on net and fast pass up ice led to two Grade A shots in the first. He moved in for a hard shot early in the second. Also kept a clean sheet. GrA +/-: EV +3, -0; ST +0, -0
Stuart Skinner, 4. Faced nine Grade A shots, but just two 5-alarmers, yet let in three goals. He was outplayed decisively by Joey Daccord. Seattle took advantage of Skinner’s weakness stopping shots off seam passes on 2-on-1s. Looked bad on the first goal against, a 2-on-1 rush that handcuffed the goalie, though it was super fast off Eberle’s stick. Solid on Marchment on his next Grade A. He bit on the shooter and was too slow getting across ice on the cross-seam pass on Seattle’s second goal. Again failed to come up with the big save on Eberle’s break in goal in the third. Shut down Beniers, finally, on a 2-on-1 late in the third.
At the Cult of Hockey
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Grade A 9 games