Somebody has to explain to me how the Edmonton Oilers can drop a six-spot on the Philadelphia Flyers at home but lose in almost every other significant statistical category. Oh yeah… Bad goaltending and Connor McDavid. Are you kidding me?
52 shots to 22 is how the game ended. I get score effects had something to do with it, but that is ridiculous. The Oilers are THIS close to putting their foot through the rusted out floor of their car with how hard they’re pushing the gas pedal. The bottom’s bound to fall out here folks…
McDavid put up sub 40% possession numbers for the second game in a row. That’s a bit weird. A 26% night on the Corsis doesn’t usually end with five points added to your statline. I like what Brian Burke had to say, “The Flyers weren’t outplayed, they were out-Connor’d.”
Swedes Down!
Is anybody concerned with Joel Persson’s inability to stay healthy? We’re not even ten games into his NHL career and he’s gone out of the lineup twice. Once when his shoulder got banged up and now he’s got a concussion. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s his spot on the roster that gets sacrificed when Adam Larsson returns.
Joakim Nygard is also out with a rib injury according to Mark Spector and a back injury if you’re a Jim Matheson fan… That’s not great. His speed and tenacity on the forecheck was really useful I found. It’s really too bad that Daniel Carr had cleared waivers before Nygard was put on IR. Carr would’ve been a solid replacement.
William Lagesson has been recalled for Persson but that’s all at the moment. Some are speculating that Sam Gagner might get brought back up, but I wonder if quicker players like Ryan McLeod or Kailer Yamamoto are better options.
Game Notes
- The first three shifts of the game were sublime! Sheahan’s line spent their shift grinding about with the puck deep in Philly’s zone, then Connor’s line hopped on the ice and immediately scored a goal, and this was followed by Nuge’s line who proceeded to get at least two grade A scoring chances on Hart.
- What is Dave Tippett going to do to get his bottom-six to wake up and start producing? I mean, the team is 6-1-0, so you can’t complain, but at some point, the Oilers are going to have their big boys shut down…
- Thank you, Mikko Koskinen!
- It was only a matter of time before Jakub Voracek started scoring…
- Gotta feel bad for the local boy, Carter Hart. Gets pulled in his return home. He’ll be all the better for it though. All the great ones just brush these off.
- Ethan Bear continues to impress. It’s only seven games, but the arrows are trending up!
- Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are scoring at a level not seen since the days of Mario and Wayne. Enjoy it, folks! If it lasts, it’ll be a glorious and unforgettable season.
- Between Couturier, Van Riemsdyk, and Voracek, the Flyers outshot Edmonton 24 to 22… Not to mention Gostisbehere’s six… So four players basically outshot the entire Oilers team…
- The Oilers are the best team in the NHL on the powerplay and started the night as the second-best team on the PK. Now they’re fifth in the league there.
- Speaking of the penalty kill. Maybe you can confirm this for me, but have they abandoned the Czech Press that they’d been implementing the last few years? Or are they applying an edited version of it?
- There were a couple of big scrums in this one and it pleased me to see that there were no bystanders. Leon Draisaitl hopping to the defense of RNH after Edmonton went up 5-1 is a good sign that these boys are all-in so far.
- The Flyers had 19 of their 52 shots in the final 13.5 minutes of the game…
Game Grades
We’re going to change things up for our game grades going forward. I’ve received some reader feedback regarding the 1-5 but no 3s scale I was using before and it makes sense. So how I’m going to grade the players until further notice is by using letters!
A – Multiple positive plays offensively and defensively leading to excellent scoring chances for and/or limiting scoring chances against.
B – Positively influenced the game with limited minor or major mistakes that didn’t lead to dangerous scoring chances against.
C – Low event night. Noticed on the roster sheet but not so much on the ice.
D – Limited positive influence while multiple errors lead to multiple goals and/or scoring chances.
F – Ate sh*t. Horrid effort.
Josh Archibald – C – Still looking for his footing, but his quickness and speed was apparent vs. Philly. He laid a nice hit on former Oiler Tyler Pitlick in the first and later on in the period was allowed a chance on net that he fired into Hart’s blocker. If he was getting a goal or an assist every now and then, the pundits wouldn’t be talking about him like he’s underperforming, but I see his hustle and I think it’ll pay off sooner than later.
Tomas Jurco – C – Had one dangle, a hit, one shot in the second period and another in the third, but he was didn’t make much of an impact on the game. I do see the hard work though. He’s not quitting and that’s a good sign. Draisaitl’s second goal of the game came off of a penalty drawn by Jurco.
Markus Granlund – D – A tough one for the Finn. Took two careless penalties, one was punished on the scoreboard by the opposition. Got clipped by a Shane Gostisbehere follow-through that somehow the ref standing 15-feet away missed and then 10 seconds later allowed the same Philly dman to walk right into the slot behind him and tip a puck unmolested. No goal was score though.
Matt Benning – C – How about that giveaway in the first to Oscar Lindblom? Good Lord that was horrid. After that, he was fairly quiet. Which is good for a third-pair defender. Did well to thwart the red-hot Travis Konecny and keep him to the outside on a drive near the end of the middle frame and then later on in that shift he and Travis Sanheim nearly squared off after a net-front scrum. Sanheim wisely declined the offer as Benning was ready to throw down. Good hit on Giroux in the final period to send the Flyers captain to the ice.
Kris Russell – C – Rusty was back to being his old self with EIGHT blocked shots. Later in the first (4:30 remaining approx.), he left his side of the ice to check Sean Couturier on the boards for some reason and guess what happened? Claude Giroux snuck in behind everyone and Couturier found him for a shot on net. Russell has to win that battle or let Oscar take the Flyer himself. He actually lost two puck battles with Couturier on that shift that ended up in chances against. Was he clearing the puck or passing it to McDavid on Connor’s goal in the second frame?
Patrick Russell – C – Played smart simple hockey all night long. Not sure I agree with the hooking penalty he took on his first shift in the third period. He did make amends with a good scoring chance when he hopped out of the box on a 2v1 though. Knowing he’s not the most blessed playmaker in the world, he allowed Khaira to draw the defender and went for the shot that nearly handcuffed Elliott.
Jujhar Khaira – C – He had his ups and his downs in this one. Nothing really notable to report though. Standard Khaira if you will.
Riley Sheahan – C – What a world of difference it makes when you’ve got a proper third-line center on your team. Sheahan wasn’t a world-beater vs. the Flyers but he played HIS game. It’s simple and effective and his signing might end up being one of the better ones of the year.
Brandon Manning – C – How many goals does Drake Caggiula have this year? Two things happened in this game you probably won’t believe. 1) Connor McDavid assisted on his goal. 2) He lead the Oilers defense in even-strength Corsi For (53.85%).
Oscar Klefbom – B – Good work to get a stick on the puck to avert a wide-open Travis Konecny scoring chance near the end of the first. Added another assist on Leon’s first goal and has eight points on the year. He’s right up there in NHL scoring for defensemen. The guy’s had some good luck with tough plays this year though as he took a stick up in the face from a flailing Flyer whilst killing Granlund’s second penalty.
Alex Chiasson – B – Had a team-best even-strength Corsi For of 56,25%. It was his clever pass on the boards from the Oilers zone to a streaking RNH that started a play that would end up in Ethan Bear’s first goal of the year. He seems to be filling in for Jurco just fine.
James Neal – B – He got his first assist of the year on Bear’s goal. Caught a foot-numbing pass off the ankle (?) early in the second period that didn’t seem to phase him as later in that shift he wallpapered a Flyers defender and had a point-blank shot stopped by Hart. Right after McDavid’s highlight-reel goal, he caught a pass from Nuge as he blazed down the left-wing and rang one off the crossbar. A great defensive play as he stick-checked Couturier 5-minutes into the third period before he could let off a shot that would’ve definitely gone in as Koskinen was WAY out of position.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – B – I’m really loving this determined and reinvigorated version of RNH. How happy is he to have James Neal on his line eh? His goal in the second chased Carter Hart from the net. RNH’s on a heater of his own now. I believe he’s got a point in four straight games. He actually ended the night with two points and a team-high 56% on the faceoff dot.
Ethan Bear – B – His hockey IQ is through the roof right now. I loved how he snuck into the slot for his goal. He read that play perfectly. I didn’t mind the penalty he took on Couturier. He had to get a stick in there somehow and he prevented a possible goal against. He’s been a great influence on Nurse so far this year and I even had a good friend say to me that Bear reminds him of Charlie Huddy. Older fans of the team might remember Huddy as Paul Coffey’s partner for many years. Now if only we can get Darnell to turn into a 100pt defenseman…
Darnell Nurse – B – Oddly enough, I thought that Nurse’s game was really silent. A couple of blunders in the third period that cost the team but his puck-moving was solid, he kept himself in position well, and when he decided to jump into the play he wasn’t a liability defensively. Instantly jumped on Couturier when the Flyer went to the aid of his fallen teammate who’d been shoved from behind by Granlund. That’s what a player who wears a letter does and he didn’t even have to. He could’ve let Granlund fend for himself. Respect.
Zack Kassian – B – What I love about Kassian’s style is that it fits seamlessly in with McDavid and Draisaitl. For a tough guy, his hands are sublime. He’s also got a very underrated wrist shot. He did a fine job of working the puck along the boards and behind the net in this game. Another thing that is standing out with Kassian is that he’s drawing more penalties. The way he used his strength to hold up the play to allow his linemates to get into better positions is something he continues to display every time the Oilers play. Seeing him fly in on Travis Sanheim was pretty entertaining. I’m sure they had a good chuckle about that in the dressing room.
Leon Draisaitl – B – It’s happening. Leon is coming into his own and will soon be a premier two-way forward in the NHL if he isn’t already. So it kinda confuses you when he posts the worst possession metrics on the team in a 6-3 win, right? Scored on the first shot of the game but later in the period, I noticed a couple of very subtle things. 1) The ref clipping him and sending him to the ice. Kinda funny. Glad he wasn’t hurt on the play. 2) With about 5 minutes left, right before Bear’s goal, he got some body contact at the red line that stunned him. He immediately went off anyhow. I guess it didn’t bother him though as the rest of the game he was pretty good…
Connor McDavid – A – Seriously? Five points? Good Christ… He’s making a mockery of the NHL at this point. Maybe TSN and Sportsnet should run more pieces comparing Matthews and McDavid… But in all seriousness, he was driving hard to the net in this game. On more than one occasion he attempted to just go through the Flyers defense instead of around it. His goal in the second was the catalyst to the Oilers’ offensive surge in the 2nd period. It probably should’ve never happened though as only seconds before it, Sean Couturier was left all alone in the slot for a glorious chance on goal that Koskinen saved.
Mikko Koskinen – A – I watched the Flyers go after his glove hand all night and yet, Koskinen didn’t flinch. He stopped 49/52 shots and was the main reason the Oilers got away with such a shite game. I could list off some of his highlights on the night, but to be honest, there were far too many. I hope this game didn’t take a lot of gas out of his tank.
