Player Ratings: Sleepy Edmonton Oilers lose one at Detroit Rock City

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After the height of Friday’s dramatic victory over the New York Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers arrived in Detroit looking sleepy and exhausted.

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The result? Edmonton was beaten at Detroit Rock City, losing 3-2 to a fast and energetic Red Wings squad.

The scoring would have been worse, but young goalkeeper Stuart Skinner held Edmonton back when the team was bombed in the first period.

In the end, the Grade A shots were Edmonton 12, Detroit 19 ( current account ).

Connor McDavid, 7 years old. It is not a night to remember, but not all can be like that, right? He got off to a late start in the second, rushing from end to end in a dangerous power play attack and a Grade A shot. He scored with a quick run and a quick shot. He led the team with 11 wins in head-to-head matches, only five losses.

Jesse Puljujarvi, 7 years old. In the first, they both won the puck to start a virtuous out zone cycle, then finished it off with a dangerous single-timer slot. A moment later he made a bad line change that led to a Grade A Detroit shot, then many, many more in the same extended Pain Sequence. I got the greasers back into the game at the end of the second in a big hurry and they shot the top shelf where Mom keeps the cookies. He also blew up a puck in the bow check, prompting Hyman to brace himself for a 5-alarm slot shot.

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Leon Draisitl, 4. Super silent game. He allowed the outside shot on Detroit’s second goal.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5 years old. Not his best game, but a dangerous shot on the power play and set Hyman up for a low-handed getaway.

Zack Kassian, 3 years old. He was having a rough game, then he got hurt. He exploded the zone on a punt from Barrie, leading to a grade A shot from Erne in the first. A moment later, he was beaten in the groove on another Grade A shot, this one from the right in the crease. He left the game shortly after with a lower body injury.

Zach Hyman, 7 years old. Typical hard work of this game. He broke into a meager breakaway in the third only to be thwarted by a poke check saved by the Detroit goalkeeper. He got into the groove to prepare Bouchard late in the game, but the young d-man couldn’t drain him.

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Warren Foegele, 3. Poor defensive play, allowing outside shots and wide shots alike. In a remarkably poor sequence, he and Bouchard failed to cover Givani Smith on two Grade A shots in the first.

Derek Ryan, 3 years old. Some major mistakes in Grade A chances against, not much in attack, not very good in matchups, five wins, six losses.

Kailer Yamamoto, 7 years old. At least the Oilers player had it going. He made a great play without his baton at the end of the second to push a player and the puck off the Edmonton end. In the third, he charged hard on the PK and got a good scoring opportunity.

Brendan Perlini, 4 years old. He and his linemate McLeod played just seven minutes and were not noticed.

Ryan McLeod, 4 years old. Same as above.

Colton Sceviour, 4. Nothing too good or bad, but that’s not what you need for a future, even in the bottom line.

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Nurse Darnell, 7 years old. It’s not a perfect game, but I really like it. He led the team with six shots at the net. He made a good play to stop a Fabbri shot early in the second. He played a dangerous power play for a while in the second, then turned a 2v1 into a minor opportunity with solid defensive positioning. His outstanding run on the ice and his equally fantastic backhand pass to McD helped bring Edmonton closer to a goal.

Evan Bouchard, 2 years old. Nightmare defense game. He contributed to the attack but made 11 major mistakes on Grade A opportunities against this game. Eleven! That’s a record since we’ve been tracking these numbers. Super Ay! That came after he made just 14 of those mistakes total in his first 10 games. He executed a great heads-up pass to McDavid that culminated with a one-timer from Puljujarvi. A moment later, he was beaten on the pass, allowing Detroi’s Fabbri to land a Grade A shot, and then was beaten on a slot pass when Erne threw a tight 5-alarm. A moment later came chaos on the fold, with Bouch part of that chaos in three quick Detroit fold jams on the disc. In the second, he gently and gently and out of position allowed Namestnikov to open a shot for Detroit’s second goal.

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Duncan Keith, 7 years old. He and Ceci were easily Edmonton’s best defensive association. He was smart and cool with the album all night long.

Cody Ceci, 7 years old. Big, smart, solid on defense, he moved the puck well.

Slater Koekkoek, 4 years old. It is not his night. His loss in the zone or began the Sequence of pain that led to Namestnikov’s first period goal. A moment later, he and Ryan allowed a pass in the slot for a Grade A Jam from Bertuzzi.

Tyson Barrie, 2 years . He had one of those defensive tourniquet sets. Namestnikov stripped him in the run and the former Oil’s first period goal. It was just the first of his seven major Grade A shooting errors in that span.

Stuart Skinner. 7. He came in much bigger than his team, even if he made a serious mistake. He stopped the first hard shot, a tip-to-tip shot that then moved into the net in the crease. A moment later he went big with Fabbri’s grade A shots, Erne, on a 5-alarm line in tight. then three quick folds, all of them Grade Aers, two from Givani Smith, one from Stephens. He wasn’t to blame for Namestnikov’s first goal, but he recovered quickly with a Grade A jam from Tyler Bertuzzi. Opportunities kept coming in the first, 11 Grade A shots in total. He made some good saves in the second before making a bad fumble on Detroit’s third goal. He made up for it with a massive stop from Fabbri late in the second. He made another 5-alarm safe at the beginning of the third in front of Lucas Raymond. He did enough for his team to win, his teammates didn’t.