Player Performance: Below Average Netmind, Penalty Killing Sink Oilers’ Tiny Chance at Minnesota

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Oilers 3, Wild 5

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The NHL didn’t do the Edmonton Oilers any favors for scheduling Thursday night’s game in Minnesota. The puck drop was the minimum interval allowed by the CBA just 22 hours after Wednesday night’s late start in Chicago. This was his third game in four nights for Edmonton and his fourth in six nights, traveling after every game (from New York to Edmonton to Chicago to Minnesota). In short, there were all the contributing factors to what has come to be known as “schedule loss.”

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And the Oilers lost it. Not surprisingly, they had few jumps in their gait and didn’t seem mentally sharp. The Minnesota Wild, rested since Sunday, went through a tough check, won most of their fights, jumped on mistakes, and convincingly beat the Oilers seven times in a row.

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Visitors had several factors that contributed to their success. Because both big guns aimed his goal at the halfway point of the game actually betting the Oilers to his 2–1 lead go-ahead. However, their penalty kills made another bad outing, as did the Netminders, so there was no chance they had to win a low-scoring game with fewer events.

The Wilds were dominant in all statistical categories, beating the Oilers 30-21 and had a 13-5 advantage on high-risk shots. natural stat trickas well as our own hockey cult 12 to 6 counts on Grade A shots (running count).

player record

#2 Evan Bouchard, 4. He had a nice assist on the first goal of the game and set up Draisaitl’s one-off rocket on a power play (played 3:54 in his first unit). Leading D Corps on five firing attempts, unfortunately, none of them actually found the target, four of which were blocked. Attempting a change and already bringing the puck to Bouchard’s side of the ice, opposite the player’s bench, made a big mistake in a tough 4-2 tally. As a result, an uncontested breakaway took place. Also one of the 5-2 culprits.

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#5 Cody Cesi, 3. It was a very tough night for the veterans, with 3 wild goals, 2 goals of even strength and 1 vs. power play in defensive culprits. I was abandoned by my teammates in some of these sequences. At 1-1 he was in the box himself.

#10 Derek Ryan, 5 years old. It was part of a team-wide defensive collapse that saw Kirill Kaprizov come forward with the puck just seven seconds after the penalty kill, and it ended quickly and badly. Played fine defensively in takeaways and one-on-one defense in one sequence with the dangerous Mats Zuccarello. Assisted on Kostin’s consolation goal. 6/10=60% of faceoff dots.

#13 Jessie Purjujärvi, 4. There were some OK moments over the 16 minutes, but little overall impact. Giving and receiving big things imbibing from the big Ryan Reaves who doubled him on the wild bench. 1 shot, 0 hits.

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#14 Devin Shore, 5. He played 14 minutes on the deep line and was even able to assist in Costin’s goal. I drew a penalty that led to Draisaitl’s power play tally. Then, on his way to the bench, he was cross-checked by Campbell by Matt Dumba in a sequence where the normally light-hearted Shore rips to Mr. Referee.

#18 Zach Hyman, 5. He got a nice second assist in transition on McDavid’s goal that gave the Oilers the lead. His failed 7-second penalties were among those that ended in a draw again a few minutes later.

#21 Krim Kostin, 5. After missing Wednesday’s game due to visa issues, he rejoined the lineup and made a few jumps and physical involvement early on despite not recording an official hit. He scored his first goal for Euler with just four seconds left and the result was decided long ago. A decent wrist shot from grade B territory that somehow missed Marc-Andre Fleury.

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#22 Tyson Barry, 4. At the hustleback track, he made one of the better defensive plays by hitting the net with dangerous shots. At 1-1, however, he made a bad mistake when his attempted pass to clear the contested puck hit Kaprizov in the slot. Oops.

#24 Brad Malone, 4. He landed the heaviest hit of the night in Edmonton when he smoked John Merrill in the back of Mininet, bringing in a physical. However, he also made a bad decision to change in his 4-2 tally that was important, effectively leaving his 3 oilers to defend against a 5-man counterattack. His replacement, his McDavid, undeservedly -1 for that mistake.

#25 Darnell Nurse, 4. Played 23 1/2 minutes on top of 29 minutes the night before and sometimes it showed. A fine stretch of Hyman sent his pass and started the play which amounted to his second goal for Edmonton. He was in the PKers group after losing 2-2. When the duo misunderstood on the bench, the periphery was at fault with Bouchard’s bad line change, but at that point the skate needed a rocket to overtake goalscorer Sam Steele.

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#26 Matthias Jeanmarck, 4. Taking a bad penalty on the offensive blue line and a second-deep O-zone, he benched Shame Skate just seven seconds after the latter. The Oilers never led again. He also allowed a shot outside (allegedly) that rolled at home 5-2. Nothing was happening offensively (0 shots on goal, 0 grade A shots contributed).

#27 Brett Clack, 5. Arguably the best group on the back end and faint praise of the night.

#29 Leon Drysitel, 7. Delivered offensively, he scored his 16th goal of the season on a powerplay in the first period, giving McDavid an easy 2–1 finish. Set up the RNH twice and took a big chance on his PP in the 3rd period. He was one of only three Oilers (also Shore, Costin) not on the ice at goal. There have been several sales and there have been several spills. Received a stick in the face in the first minute of the match and won a PK. Garbage on his time Joel Erickson got at least a few ounces of meat when he popped Ek right in front of the referee. Dot he 6/11 = 55%.

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#36 Jack Campbell, 2. He was the freshest oiler by some margin, seeing his first action since last Saturday, and his weary brethren needed a big performance from him. One night, Wild was “expecting” his 3.0 goals, but he scored five. Poor puck handling (2 official giveaways, 4 by my count) in seemingly ‘small at the net’ shots. Most important is the complete lack of critical saves. Stopped Minnesota’s only Grade A shot in the first period, but was beaten by his 3 in the first he faced in midfield, and just like that Edmonton’s 1-0 and his 2-1 lead was a Gone and the rest of the night was his skating uphill. The third was hit again by two of the first three grade A shots, and another rang an iron. Finally, I made a few five-alarm stops in the stretch to prevent a complete explosion, but by then the damage had happened long ago: 30 shots, 25 saves, .833 save percentage, past In his sixth in eight starts, he fell below 87%.

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#55 Dylan Holloway, 4. I skated hard and had a few hits, but 0 shot attempts and a -2 in 9 minutes of action. One missed line, though he was struck 4-2, was when he realized the rookie was finally back with a change. Probably not the way Jay Woodcroft painted it.

#57 James Hamblin, 4. He collected several shots over the net, including a tricky backhand through traffic late in the first. His one successful penalty for the Oilers shifted his kills well and cleared the zone his three. However, on the other side of the 3-2 pack.

#86 Philip Broberg, 4. He made no notable mistakes and was beaten by one grade A shot, but far from his aggressive best. It looked somewhat tentative to my eyes. Even with less playing time (he played at 13:22 this night), a crazy travel schedule can affect an inexperienced Oilers.

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#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. Stolen by Marc-André Fleury on a power play chance in the third period. It was the only big-time save that both goalkeepers brought to these eyes all night, effectively sealing the deal. Doors were better than windows after 5-2 minutes. Dot he 10/16 = 63%.

#97 Connor McDavid, 6. We took a funky spill right after the opening showdown, a precursor to a funky night at the office. Considering he had played 27 minutes the night before and 27 minutes the night before, there was no big jump in his gait. Even on off nights, he scored goals and assists. However, he had only three Grade A chances by Oil, but was burned in five other ways, including a goal and a clear-cut breakaway. “Just” played at 21:12. It’s practically on vacation!

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