I haven’t seen a third-period performance like that from any player let alone the greatest skater in hockey today in a long long time. It was some time in the third period that I was wondering when the last time was that an Oilers forward had scored a goal and then BAM! Leon and Connor teamed up to end their respective scoring slumps and return the Oilers to the TOP of the NHL standings! 8-2-1 BABY!!!
FYI: The last forward to score before Draisaitl did last night? That was James Neal around 200 minutes prior. Tip of the hat to the Cult of Hockey’s Bruce McCurdy for the info there.
I’ll be honest though, after the second period I held little hope that the Oilers would be winning this game let alone scoring a single goal. Braden Holtby was on fire AND he was getting some love from the hockey gords all night. I didn’t think for a second that was going to end. Well, egg on my face and good on the Oilers for keeping their foot on the pedal in the final frame and kudos to Mikko Koskinen for becoming the first Oiler to start a season 5-0.
Check out this heatmap from the game. How Edmonton’s area looks, It’s exactly what you want from your hockey team in any game because it means two things if it looks like this, 1) you won the game 2) you lost the game but not for a lack of effort. So there are positive outcomes either way.
Brendan Perlini
TSN is reporting that Brendan Perlini (CHI) is looking for a move away from the Blackhawks. He’s not getting any ice time this season and would like a fresh start. I guess work ethic and consistency are a problem for him.
Now, a question for Oilers fans. Is this a player taking control of his future or is it a player quitting on his team? I get so confused by this fanbase sometimes. I think a portion would say Perlini should “earn” his spot in Chicago’s lineup whereas another portion would say, good on the kid for doing what he thinks is best for his career. Where do you fall in this argument?
How do the Oilers factor in here? Well, Perlini played over a half a season with Dave Tippett as his coach in Arizona and scored 14 goals. There’s also a feeling amongst the fans that the Oilers should be trying to increase the scoring from the bottom-six, right?
I’ve seen some say that they should deal Jujhar Khaira for Perlini, but I have a hard time believing Coach Tippett would be okay moving anybody off of his successful PK units. JJ might not be scoring right now, but he has to be helping elsewhere. Regardless of what the numbers might be saying, he has the trust of the coaching staff.
I’d have time for Perlini but not if Jesse Puljujarvi’s name is involved.
For what it’s worth, I think the Blackhawks are looking for a player with a bit more sandpaper as their coach was complaining about his team’s work ethic recently. Maybe the Oilers could land Perlini for Tomas Jurco, Joe Gambardella, or Cooper Marody.
Jesse Puljujarvi Update
Speaking of the Wonder Finn, Pulju scored for Karpat AGAIN tonight in their 7-1 victory. He’s on a seven-game goal-scoring streak and has a point in nine straight games. If you ask me, it sounds like he took the summer off and is just playing lazy. Any beer leaguer from Canada could pull off a couple of streaks like that, amirite?
Game Grades
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 – Apart from that big hit he threw on Backstrom that landed the Swede on his back-side, Archibald didn’t stand out. Was on the ice for Ovi’s PP marker where he had all the time in the world to put it where? Yessir, high glove on Koskinen.
Sam Gagner – B – An eventful return to the lineup for Samwise. He provided some well-needed energy to his line and kept his head above water in his ten minutes of deployment. In limited minutes, I’m thinking that Gagner might be able to be a positive influence on the Oilers bottom-six. I’m just not sure about his linemates if that’s the plan.
Markus Granlund – C – Early on, he had a couple of good shifts that lead to his line putting some pressure on Washington, but as the game wore on and Edmonton was chasing the lead, his ice-time grew sparse.
Matt Benning – C – A simple pass from behind his net to Zack Kassian at the Oilers blueline started a play that ended in Leon Draisaitl taking a pass from Connor McDavid and giving the Oilers their second goal of the night. For those of you that watched the game in its entirety, did you notice him getting some shifts in the top-four later in the game?
Kris Russell – B – Successfully implemented the “Starfish” on Jakub Vrana to thwart a scoring chance early on and was solid for the rest of the game. I feel like I’m seeing a younger version of Russell this season. Something more akin to what he played like in junior. He’s skating the puck out more and moving it much better than he did under Todd McLellan and Ken Hitchcock.
Patrick Russell – C – I think Russell was a victim of the line he was playing on. After a handful of really nice performances, Coach Tippett rewarded him with 5:52 of ice time against the Capitals… I hope he isn’t hurt.
Jujhar Khaira – D – Things just aren’t going JJ’s way these days. He was absolutely destroyed in the fancies with a 37.5% CF% and quiet throughout.
Riley Sheahan – D – Six minutes of even-strength TOI is all Sheahan played and he was 33% on the faceoff dot. An uncharacteristic evening for a player who’d been doing quite well.
Brandon Manning – C – You know we’re in the end days when Brandon Manning is having games where he out-Corsis Connor McDavid. The other indicator is that nobody is complaining about Manning’s play and some are even praising it… William Lagesson has to be wondering what it’s going to take to get a shift.
Oscar Klefbom – B – Took a BIG hit from Tom Wilson early on, but it had no effect on the Six-Pack Swede. Klefbom was as he always is, quietly very effective in his 25 minutes plus.
Alex Chiasson – C – The 5×5 shot attempts were 18/15 in Chiasson’s favor when he was on the ice and it was his work behind the net to get the puck to James Neal that resulted in McDavid’s game-tying goal. He has a very simple but extremely important skill that is really flourishing in Edmonton, that’s his ability to battle along the boards. He’s a big man and very strong with a relentless work ethic and a prickly personality.
James Neal – B – I was really impressed with Neal in this game. He looked to have his skating legs under him and a bee in his jock. He was a tad ornery in this one and took it out on a number of Capitals. Came close to tying this one up on his own in the 3rd, however, it was Neal who grabbed the puck from behind the Caps net and shoveled it over to McDavid to tie the game late.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – C – Got smashed by Tom Wilson early in the first but walked away unscathed. A minute into the third I thought that he was going to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead, but Holtby stopped RNH’s point-blank chance. Apart from that, I think that McDavid and Draisaitl might’ve cast a big shadow over Nuge in this one as he seemed a bit invisible.
Ethan Bear – B – This Bear couldn’t outmuscle the Russian bear (Ovechkin) and prevent him from tipping a puck that found its way into the net in the first frame. That said, on a number of instances, he was using that little dish pass from the corner to a swooping center in the defensive zone that had the Oilers breaking out of their own end with ease. There was another sequence late in the third I believe where his poise and patience was on full display at his own blueline as he got control of a jumpy puck, then outwaited a forechecker just long enough for a lane to open up and a cross-ice pass to be made and an offensive zone entry under control completed. No defender on this team has this unique skill.
Darnell Nurse – B – Had a team-high six shots! SIX!!! That’s nuts! Got lucky on his goal as his vintage play when he rushes the puck deep like that went in off of a Washington defender’s stick and under Holtby’s pads. Good on him though. He was a beast on the night. He and Bear definitely make up the Oilers top-pair now. There’s no doubt and if this play continues throughout the season, he’s going to cost Edmonton an arm and a leg to re-sign.
Zack Kassian – B – Kass had FOUR takeaways in this one to go with two assists, three hits, a penalty for getting mucky with Tom Wilson, and he also drew a penalty and added three shots. Speaking of mixing it up with the Capitals tough guy, I’m not sure Kass would’ve lasted long had that gone any further. I’d never question his toughness, but Tom Wilson is on another level when it comes to fighting. I do respect Zack for getting in there though and instigating the scrum.
Leon Draisaitl – AA – Finally, he decided to be greedy on a couple of 2v1s and shoot the puck instead of passing it. He wasn’t power forward Leon in this one though. No swatting of sticks or using his hockey butt to create room for himself. He was playing the role of skiller in this match and it paid off. The German ended the night with three points (2g and 1a), five shots and was 40% on the dot. A helluva way to bust a slump. That OT goal secured him the team record for most regular-season overtime winners in Oilers history.
Connor McDavid – AAA – As the Aussies say, “F*ck me dead.” What did he drink during the second intermission? He came out like a man on fire in the third and announced to the world that he was taking over. That’s putting it likely. Did it not seem like every one of his shifts in that final frame was there was a highlight from him. I think Nick Jensen is still looking for the puck from that play where Connor turned him into a pretzel and then went roof daddy only for the biscuit to go off the iron and over the glass. After a few games where he put up paltry numbers on the faceoff, he had a success rate of 64% on the draw.
Mikko Koskinen – B – After Ovie pulled the old Pat Maroon puck through the legs deke on James Neal, Koskinen stood tall and stoned the Russian superstar. What a great save on Backstrom to get the paddle down and prevent a wraparound winner. It basically set up the game-winner for Draisaitl down the line. I think he’d probably like to have that Vrana goal back, although, I don’t know who was expecting a shot to come from that play. It looked like the young Capitals winger was just going to pivot and dish off the puck instead of shooting a rolling puck. Now holds an Oilers record for hottest start to a season (5-0-0). Let’s see if he can take that to 6-0-0 on Sunday.
Stats courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick
Next up, the Florida Panthers in an afternoon game! You can be assured that this game isn’t going to be a snoozefest. There’ll be lots of speed, skill, and great goaltending to witness.
