Battered & beaten Edmonton Oilers club fall 6-5 in O/T in decisive Game 4 to Colorado: Cult of Hockey Player Grades

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The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final Monday night with an entertaining, inspiring, but ultimately (for the home team & its fans) heart-breaking 6-5 OT loss to Colorado.

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The Oilers hung in there and pulled ahead 3-1 and 4-2. But the Av’s stayed with it, battled back and got the bounce in the extra frame for the win.

You cannot say the better team did not win the series. At least the clincher was by far the Oilers best effort of the 4.

Here is the tale of the tape…

Edmonton Oilers Player Grades

MIKE SMITH. 4. 35 saves. 6 goals against. The Oilers are never in this one without Smith’s play over the first 25 minutes. The biggest of those saves were off O’Connor, MacKinnon Burakovsky. Also booted out a tough one-timer off Makar’s stick in the 2nd. But he was also primarily responsible for 2 against later. No chance on the 1-0, which whizzed past both a heavy screen and Smith’s glove. Unlucky on the 3-2 which banked off Ceci’s leg and in. Wears the 4-3 goal with an attempted clear attempt up the left board but went off the referee and extended Colorado’s zone time. And while the play at the crease was borderline goalie interference it was too close to chance on a coach’s challenge in a game this tight. Left all on his own against MacKinnon on partial break for the 4-4. Beaten clean by Rantanen from the top of the circle for the 5-4, the one goal against I felt was solely on Smith. He allowed the OT winner on a rebound after a terrific, high (but legal) deflection on a shot from the point. Smith has another year left on his contract. I wonder…

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CONNOR McDAVID. 7. Played an eye-opening 26:59. Connor went post and in on the PP to energize the Roger’s Place crowd and make it 3-1 on a set-up from Draisaitl. McDavid earned a secondary assist on Hyman’s 2^na. Then, he fired a pass across to Draisaitl whose rebound Zack Kassian pounced on for the 5-5. He had 5 shots. He twice beat Bowen Byram wide but couldn’t get a clear shot on net either time. CF 5v527-17, 61%. 75% on faceoffs. Selected the game’s 3^dr Star. 10-23-33 in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games. What a privilege to get to watch him play.

LEON DRAISAITL. 8. What an inspiring performance from Leon Draisaitl who earned 4 primary assists while clearly playing through considerable pain. He threaded a perfect pass through to a breaking Hyman on the 1-1. Fed to pass from the point to the top of the circle where a waiting Connor McDavid made it 3-1. Started off the play on the 4-2 with a fine defensive play in his own zone, then hobbled up the ice and fed Hyman for the one-timer. Fired a shot on net off a McDavid pass, and Kassian swept home the rebound for the 5-5. 33 points in point 16 playoff games for Leon. What a player, sure. But what a competitor. Named the game’s 1^st star.

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ZACH HYMAN. 7. Scored the 1-1 (on a bad Avalanche line change) after taking a pass from Draisaitl and putting a for-hand/back-hand deke past the Av’s tender. Net front on the 3-1. Then sit a knuckle puck past the Av’s keeper to make it 4-2. Also hit a post. He had 5 shots on net and laid 3 hits in 23:30. What a strong addition he has been to this club.

DARNELL NURSES. 5. We are hearing Darnell Nurse played 3 series through a torn hip flexor that will require off-season surgery for the injury he’s clearly been hobbled by, which could see him miss the start of the 2022-23 season. I hope his harshest critics of him consider that. Stretch pass up to Draisaitl on the first Hyman goal. Helped create the typing goal with a big hit at his own blueline to turn the puck over. Not able to get a piece of the shot on the 5-4. Admiration for how he played through his physical issues.

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CODY CECI. 4. The 3-2 bounced in off his leg. Beaten clean by MacKinnon on the 4-4. Ended the evening-2. Lost the Scoring Chances For/Against at 5v5 quite badly, 5-14 Against, HDSC’s 3-9. Not his finest night after what has been a solid playoff performance.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. Picked off an errant Colorado pass and slipped a nifty deke past the Colorado goalie for the 2-1. Perhaps swung a little too far to the puck carrier on the 5-4. Had 3 shots and a couple of shot blocks. Played 21:10.

DEREK RYAN. 5. I am still trying to figure out how the referees came away with just a minor penalty on Ryan from a play that was a 50-50, at best. Unfortunately for Ryan, the Av’s scored the 5-4 on the resulting PP. I have a tough time faulting him as much as you usually would on a PP against. He played a gritty, battling game with 3 hits and was 83% on the dot.

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JESSE PULJUJARVI. 4. Puljujarvi did not have a substantial impact on the game. To be fair, some of that was missed time after getting injured along the boards but after a long stretch away he eventually returned. I did have 4 hits. Best chance was a back-hand off to Keith rebound. A 5-alarm giveaway in his own zone to Landeskog.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 7. The best Oilers pairing in Game 4. Bouchard-Keith had the flow of play in their favor almost all night. Evan ended the game with a 5v5 CF of 26-7, 79%. Caught in-between on the O/T winner but was not primarily at fault. 4 shots and 2 hits at 18:35.

DUNCAN KEITH. 6. 5v5 CF of 76%, High Danger Scoring Chances For/Against were 7-2 while the veteran was on the ice. The man who got behind him deflected the point shot which resulted in the O/T winner. 4 shots at 15:16.

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RYAN McLEOD. 5. Shifted into a Top-6 role at times as the bench shortened, and the game tightened. Scoring Chances were 12-9 in his watch from him. 2 shots on net at 21:10 in all 3 disciplines.

WARREN FOEGELE. 6. An industrious effort from Foegele who had eight (8!) hits, 3 shots and 2 take away’s. Hit Malone for a good chance at the far post. That he ended up -2 was just unlucky on his past. But he still could not find the back of the net.

DYLAN HOLLOWAY. 5. Used sparingly. 1^st Period hit. +1 in just 3:27. Gets the customary Cult of Hockey +1 in grade for playing his first NHL game. Good for him.

BRETT KULAK. 4. The best Oilers Defenseman in the series, although tonight was not his best of the series. He lost a puck battle along the wall on the 4-4. And the flow of pay was against him more often than not. Scoring Chances For / Against were 3-8 on his watch from him, HDSC’s 1-4. One must think that Ken Holland will try to re-sign him.

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Tyson Barrie. 5. None of the 6 Colorado goals went in while Tyson Barrie was on the ice. Earned a secondary assist by sliding it over to Draisaitl on the 3-1. And Scoring chances were basically a saw-off on his watch.

ZACK KASSIAN. 6. The night started off sketchy with a neutral zone slash that put Colorado on the PP and led to the 1-0. But it picked up from there, including a swept home rebound to thirst the game to Overtime. Drew the penalty which led to the 3-1 PP goal. 4 hits at 13:56.

KRIS RUSSELL. 5. Russell was solid, had 3 hits and a block at 9:23. Sawed off on HDSC’s For/Against. Was that the Cowboy’s final NHL game?

BRAD MALONE. 5.Competitive. Just missed on a nice pass from Foegele. He was in the circle in O/T and actually won the draw but the puck ticked off the linesman’s skate, and then Malone was picked on the subsequent O/T goal. Physical, 5 hits and 57% on draws.

Losing sucks. But this was the Oilers best season in 16 years. And along the way, it helped vividly illustrate not just the growth in the club…

…but also the drive and resolve of their key players.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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