The Edmonton Oilers bounce back big with 5-3 win to even Flames series at 1-1: Cult of Hockey Player Grades

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The Edmonton Oilers scored a 5-3 triumph in Game 2 Friday, evening this playoff series at 1-1 and wrestled home-ice advantage away from the Flames with the split in Calgary.

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The game was night-and-day different from the 9-6 loss in Game 1 except for the start. The Oilers fell behind (yet again) 2-0 in the 1st. But they fought back and it stuck, scoring 4 unanswered goals to seal the deal. Mike Smith battled back in net. And Connor McDavid was…Connor McDavid.

You know who didn’t have a good game? Referee Chris Lee, who botched not one but two goal line calls, one against each club.

Here’s the tale of the tape…

Edmonton Oilers Player Grades

MIKE SMITH. 8. Perhaps a goal away from back-to-back 1^st Period pulls, Mike Smith dug deep and eventually played a key role in the comeback win. His save of the night was on Blake Coleman bear the start of the 3rd frame. If Smith doesn’t stop that puck they are disspirited and down 4-3. Game changing stop. Made another big one off Gaudreau late. Screened on the 1-0. Coughed up a bad rebound on the 2-0. Had no chance on the 3-1. Dished up a sweet back-handed pass up the boards to Draisaitl for the 5-3 insurance marker. Stopped 37-40.

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CONNOR McDAVID. 9. We witnessed a special performance by a special player tonight. He created the 2-1 goal with a terrific play behind the net, where he won a puck battle, walked Rasmus Andersson, and then fed a pinching Duncan Keith with a one-handed, backhand pass. For an encore, he took a Leon Draisaitl feed, spun off Zadorov, dished the disk off, then took a bullet return pass from Duncan Keith and beat Markstrom with a back-hand / forehand deke. Magic. Beat Anderson again, coming out of the corner in the 1^st, but dished it just wide of Markstrom and the net. 5 shots, 4 hits, countless oooh’s and ahhh’s.

LEON DRAISAITL. 8. This is the best Leon has looked since the injury in the LA series. Chipped the puck deep into the Flames zone, leading to the 2-1. A cross-the-zone pass to McDavid on the 3-2. Then, Draisaitl salted the game away with a breakaway goal where he took a neat back hand pass from Mike Smith, beat all the Flames (band ankle and all) down the ice and beat Markstrom low stick side. He had slammed home another one earlier but it was called back on Goaltender Interference (McDavid drive). 3 shots. 42% on the dot.

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EVANDER KANE. 6. Spend the whole night on the top line. Was net front on the 2-1. Just missed on a good chance from Yamamoto in the 2^na. Had a couple good touches on the 3-3 Power Play goal including a pass back to Duncan Keith, who slid it across to Bouchard for the Bouch Bomb. 3 shots, 3 hits, in the box a couple times.

DARNELL NURSES. 6. Clearly compromised physically, but still led the D-Corps in TOI at 23:21. 3 hits, 2 blocks. While his Corsi numbers looked a little ugly, the bottom line was High Danger Scoring Chances For / Against which was just 1-3 with Nurse on the ice. He and Ceci were far from perfect but he got the job done when it mattered most.

CODY CECI. 6. Like Nurse above, Cody Ceci bent but didn’t break despite the 5v5 shot volume against him on the ice. He was on for the 3-1 PP goal against but was outnumbered on the play. A shot and a block at 22:29 of work.

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RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. An excellent stick and push pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Zach Hyman for the 4-3 shorty. Partially screened his own goalie on the 1-0. A very smart 3^dr Period defensive play on Backlund in the D-zone. Whistled for a highly questionable slash late. A miserable 17% on draws. But played a bunch, 24:33 to lead all Oilers. Solid performance.

ZACH HYMAN. 7. Zach Hyman played a whale of a game. He scored the eventual winning goal with a lovely short-handed effort, beating both defenders down the ice and fired a wrist shot high glove. Just missed a 1^st Period net drive as his chipped a Draisaitl pass over the net. 6 shots. His broken stick from him inadvertently helped create a 5-on-4 fire drill in the Oilers end and resulted in the 1-0. He added 2 hits and 3 blocked shots, plus 3:03 short-handed.

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KAILER YAMAMOTO. 4. A rough game. Really struggled with the puck early, at 1^st Period turnover, then yet another one a couple shifts later. Also failed to pass his stick to Nurse (who had broken his over a Flames player) on the 3-1 Flames Power Play goal. His best moment of him was a nice set-up for a good Kane chance in the 2^na. Drew the 4:00 Power Play with a stick to the mouth.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 7. Inexplicably just stood and watched as a Flames attacker blew through coverage and deposited a Mike Smith rebound for the 2-0. Awful play. Thankfully, it got better from there. Hammered home the 3-3 Power Play goal with a classic slapshot, his stick tickling the rafters before Bouchard brought down the hammer. He had 5 shots in all.

DUNCAN KEITH. 8. One notable play aside, this was Duncan Keith’s best game as an Edmonton Oiler. He blasted home the 2-1 off a lovely pass from Connor McDavid. Made a bullet pass from high to low on McDavid’s 3-2 goal. Then he slid another pass across to Bouchard for the 3-3. And he made a list of smart little stick and positioning plays in his own zone. A highly questionable decision on the 2-0 goal was a rare mistake. But the advantage of a veteran like Keith, he didn’t let it throw him and proceeded to have a huge performance. The goal was his 1^st in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since April 2016.

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RYAN McLEOD. 6. His best opportunity was a high-speed circle in the attacking zone and a good shot in the 3^dr. Defended pretty well and played 15:07 at 3C, including 2:40 on the PP, 2:35 on the PK. Not bad for a 22-year-old kid in the 2^na Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

WARREN FOEGELE. 5. Foegele’s biggest contribution to this game was highly significant, busting his ass to win (in the eyes of the linesmen) a race to the puck to negate icing…setting up the sequence that led to the 5-3. He took the penalty in advance of the shorty by getting beaten off the wall and applying an inadvisable slash in the process. 2 shots, 2 hits at 8:14.

JESSE PULJUJARVI. 6. An effective forecheck led to a good chance by Nugent-Hopkins in the 1^st. Sifted a pretty pass up the middle to spring Hyman for a solid 2^na Period chance. Another opportunity created by a hard charge down the right-hand side. 4 shots in just 8:41. Encouraging.

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BRETT KULAK. 7. Moved the puck well and his plus-level skating from him helped turn the puck quickly out of the D-zone ahead of the Flames forecheck. Scoring chances were 7-3 5v5 with him on the pond. Just 1 HDSC Against. A highly effective 12:43.

Tyson Barrie. 6. Barrie and Kulak had a solid night. The puck was generally moving in the right direction with him on the ice. 2 shots, 2 shot blocks a gritty effort in his own zone.

DEREK RYAN. 4. The 4^th line got drilled in scoring chances 5v5. And Ryan was just 31% on the dot. I’m grading all 3 of these players based on their limited ice take during which to accomplish much.

ZACK KASSIAN. 4. Didn’t play a shift in the 3^dr. 2 hits at 4:17. One unforced icing.

JOSH ARCHIBALD. 4. 2 hits at 4:39. A shift on the PK.

Game 3. Edmonton. sunday night

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