Player grades: Tyson Barrie and Stuart Skinner lead Edmonton Oilers in win over Florida Panthers
Barrie #Barrie
Tyson Barrie and Stuart Skinner came up big as damn mountains for the Edmonton Oilers as the team gutted out a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Skinner was hot in net, Barrie heated things up with two point blasts for goals, and the Oilers played solid enough defence in the third period.
The win means the Oilers came out of a tough road trip with two wins and two losses. At the same time, Skinner is making a major push to be the team’s No. 1 goalie for the next while.
Overall, the Oilers had 14 Grade A shots, with 12 for Florida, with a subset of six 5-alarm shots for Edmonton and eight for the opposition ( running count ).
Here are the game grades:
Connor McDavid, 7. The Oilers first sign of life came from McD nine minutes in, him shouldering a Florida defender off the puck and setting up RNH for a slot backhander off the post. He then fired his own slot wrister on the power play on net. He got tripped dangerously into the boards by Gustav Forsling after a launching a backhand shot. He made a fine rush to help kill off a penalty early in the third. He and RNH combined on some solid passing to set up Puljujarvi for a third period tip shot.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Much more good than bad. He was slow to move to the shooter on an early Florida power play chance by Sam Reinhart that hit the crossbar. His own backhander hit the post a moment later. Got into a vicious slashing battle with Marc Staal in the second, then slammed two Grade A shots on net. He got the empty-netter for Edmonton. He led the team with major contributions to seven Grade A shots.
Jesse Puljujarvi, 4. Seemed out of sync. His turnover on the boards led at a 5-alarm tipped shot by Florida late in the second. He got beat again on the pass on Florida’s second goal. But redeemed himself somewhat with a solid board play on RNH’s empty-netter.
Leon Draisaitl, 8. He came up big when the team needed him. Unleashed his dread Executioner’s Shot on a power play late in the first, but Spencer Knight somehow stopped it. He came out fired up for the second and dangled with the puck at the o-zone blueline to set up Kulak down low, but no goal. He made a fine backhand slot pass to set up Foegele for Edmonton’s insurance goal. He won 14 faceoffs and lost just nine.
Zach Hyman, 7. The human pinball out there led all forwards with 24:08 of ice time. Some solid work moving and protecting the puck, as well as defending. His iffy penalty led to Florida’s power play goal early in the third, but drew a key penalty with hard work a moment later.
Dylan Holloway, 4. An early unforced turnover on his mis-timed backhand pass led to a Florida Grade A shot. He and Foegele passed up shooting on two-on-one breaks in the first half of the game, with both their passes picked off.
Ryan McLeod, 7. Good work throughout. The third line got the game’s first goal with McLeod teeing up Barrie’s point slapper. He set up Kostin early in the third on a break-in chance.
Klim Kostin, 7. Solid debut. He went to the net and helped screen the goalie on Barrie’s goal.
Warren Foegele, 8. His strong play got him bumped up to Draisaitl’s line in the second period. Great hustle play up the ice for a dangerous shot late in the first, drawing a penalty as well. Another hustle play to strip the puck late in the third, then fire home a slot shot for Edmonton’s third goal late in the game. Sensational play to win it and drain it, which bumped his grade up two full marks.
Derek Ryan, 5. His good stick picked off a key pass to kill off a penalty in the third. Nothing bad to report, and a wee bit of good there.
Devin Shore, 4. Quiet game, with little ice time. He played just 7:06.
Mattias Janmark, 7 . He kicked off the Virtuous Cycle leading to Barrie’s goal with some excellent puck protection behind the net. He made a cross-ice pass to set up Draisaitl in the third for a good shot.
Darnell Nurse, 7. Kept it simple, had a solid game on defence blocking shots and banging bodies. He led Oil dmen playing 26:10.
Cody Ceci, 8. The best of the Oil’s defenders. He blocked a nasty Brandon Montour slot shot early in the game, then kept blocking shots throughout, finishing with five of them. His stretch pass also set up a Draisaitl Grade A in the third.
Brett Kulak, 6. He allowed a few passes into the slot for dangerous shots early on. Failed to slam home a wrap-around attempt early in the second. But his game picked up and he was part of a solid Oiler defensive effort in the third.
Evan Bouchard, 6. Between him and Kulak, a few iffy moments on defence early on. He made some solid shots and passes as the game went along. He played 23:53, as the coach’s went mainly with top two defence pairings at even strength.
Tyson Barrie, 7. Hammered in the game’s first goal with a fine point blast. His second goal was a smoke show of a blast, beating Knight off the post. But he got scorched by the pass on Florida’s second goal, so subtract one grade point. He played just 13:33.
Markus Niemelainen, 4 . Some early stumbles on Grade A shots against. He was slow moving the puck at times, over-handling it. He got cross-checked in the back with no penalty, as evidently that infraction is allowed on NHL role players, at least when their team is in the lead. He played just 8:52.
Stuart Skinner, 9. Made a fine save off a high-low pass and harpoon shot one minute into the game, saving Oil from an early bullet, then promptly thwarted Sam Bennett and Colin White from the slot. Huge slots saves on Tkachuk and Barkov were next out of his magic trunk. By the end of the second period, Florida should have had about three goals but Skinner thwarted them all. He got beat off a slot rebound and hellacious Sam Bennett snap shot early in the third, but no Oiler was to blame there, least of all Skinner.
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