Player record: Tyson Barry and Stuart Skinner lead Edmonton Oilers to victory over Florida Panthers

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Tyson Barry and Stuart Skinner were very big mountains for the Edmonton Oilers as the team beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Saturday.

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Skinner was hot in the net, Barry heated things up with a two-point blast for the goal, and the Oilers had plenty of solid defense in the third period.

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The win means the Oilers are coming off a tough 2-2 road trip. At the same time, Skinner is working hard to be the team’s number one goalie for some time to come.

Overall, the Oilers made 14 Grade A shots, 12 of them in Florida, the fifth in Edmonton, six, and the opposition a subset of eight (running count).

The game grades are:

Connor McDavid, 7. The Oilers’ first sign of life came from McD in the ninth minute. He shouldered the Florida defender from the pack and set up the RNH for a slotted backhand from the post. He then fired his own slotlister on a net power play. He was dangerously tripped over the board by Gustav his false ring after starting his shot backhand. He made a nice rush to help kill a penalty early in the third set as he and his RNH combined solid passing to set up Purjujärvi chip his shot in the third period. .

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Ryan Nugent Hopkins, 7 years old. Much better than bad. He was slow to move to the shooter on an early Florida powerplay chance by Sam Reinhart that hit the crossbar. In the second inning, he got into a fierce slashing battle with Marc Stahl and slammed two grade A shots into the net. He got an empty net in Edmonton. He led the team and contributed significantly to seven Grade A shots.

Jesse Purjujärvi, 4. It seemed out of sync. His turnover on the board led to five alarm chip shots by Florida in the second half of the second. He lost again on his second goal pass for Florida. However, the RNH’s empty redeemed himself to some extent by making his play a solid board in his net.

Leon Drysitel, 8 years old. He went big when the team needed him. He unleashed a terrifying Executioner’s Shot on a power play late in the first, but Spencer Knight managed to stop it. He came out fired up in his second, hanging in the puck at Ozone’s blue line to set Clarke down low, but no goals. He made a great backhand slot his pass and Edmonton Insurance set him up for his goal with Foegele. He won 14 face-offs and lost just nine.

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Zach Hyman, 7 years old. Human pinball there led all forwards with an ice time of 24:08. A solid job of moving and protecting the pack and defending. His ambiguous penalty led to a powerplay goal for Florida, but hard work soon after drew a crucial penalty.

Dylan Holloway, 4 years old. An early, unforced turnover on a mistimed backhand pass led to a Florida Grade A shot. He and Vogel both passed shots in the first half of the game with a 2–1 break and both passes went off.

Ryan McLeod, 7 years old. Good job overall. On the third line, MacLeod teed up Barry’s points slapper to score the first goal of the game. He set up Costin early in the third with a break-in chance.

Crim Kostin, 7 years old. Solid debut. He went to the net and helped screen the goalie at Barry’s goal.

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Warren Vogel, 8 years old. His strong play saw him run into Draisaitl’s line in the second period. In the second half of the first he had a big brawl on the ice for a dangerous shot and also drew a penalty. Another hustle play to strip the puck late in the third and fire a slot shot for Edmonton’s third goal late in the game. Winning with a sensational play and wearing it down resulted in him rising two notches in his record.

Derek Ryan, 5 years old. His good stick picked up a key pass and killed a penalty in the third. Nothing bad to report.

Devin Shore, 4. A quiet game with very little ice time. He played in just 7:06.

Matthias Jeanmarck, 7 years oldHe started a virtuous cycle that led to Barry’s goal with excellent puck protection behind the net. He made a cross-ice pass and set up Draisaitl in third for a good shot.

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Darnell Nurse, 7 years old. I kept it simple and played a solid game with a shot-blocking, body-slapping defense. He led the Oil dmen playing his 26:10.

Cody Cesi, 8 years old. Best defender of oil. He blocked a nasty Brandon Montour slot his shots early in the game and then continued to block shots, finishing with his five of them. His stretch pass also set him a Draisaitl grade A in his third.

Brett Clack, 6 years old. He allowed several passes to the slot for risky shots early on. Couldn’t beat a wraparound attempt early in the second. However, his game turned around and was part of Oiler’s solid defensive effort in the third round.

Evan Bouchard, 6 years old. There were some awkward moments in the early defense between him and Krak. He made some solid shots and passes as the game progressed. He played his 23:53. This is largely because the coach has made his pairings of the top two defenses of even strength.

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Tyson Barry, 7 years old. Scored the first goal of the game with a fine point blast. His second goal was an explosive smoke show, beating Knight from the post. But he got flustered on Florida’s pass on his second goal, so he deducted one point from the record. He played at exactly 13:33.

Markus Niimelainen, 4 years oldSome early stumbling blocks for grade A shots. He was slow to move the puck at times and overhandled it. He was cross-checked behind with no penalty as it is clear that infractions are allowed for NHL role players, at least if their team is leading. He played just 8:52 Did.

Stuart Skinner, 9 years old. A fine save with a high-low pass and a harpoon shot saved Oil from an early bullet in the first minute of the game and quickly held off Sam Bennett and Colin White from the slot. Tkachuk and Barkov’s huge slot his save next came out of his magic trunk. By the end of the second period, Florida should have had about three goals, but Skinner blocked them all. He was beaten by a slot rebound and a ferocious snapshot from Sam Bennett early in the third, but it wasn’t Oiler’s fault. Especially Skinner.

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