The Edmonton Oilers clinch playoff home ice as McDavid flies high in convincing 5-1 win over Pittsburgh

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The Edmonton Oilers clinched home-ice advantage in the 1^st Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh.

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These games inevitably draw the comparison between Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. But with all due respect to Sid, it was 97 that had even the Pittsburgh fans ooh-ing and ahh-ing in this one. McDavid extended his lead atop the scoring list with 3 assists and a hi-light reel goal.

Behind him, Mike Smith won his 9^th consecutive game as he & his mates hit the 100-point mark.

Here’s the tale of the tape…

MIKE SMITH. 8. Vet Mike Smith earned his 299^th career NHL regular season victory, his 9th straight win tying him with Andy Moog and Tommy Salo for 2^na all-time (Grant Fuhr is 1st) in franchise history. A big, early stop off Malkin on a goal mouth scramble. Back-to-back-to-back stops on a 2^na Period Pittsburgh PP which really demonstrated his athleticism. The one goal against was a wild (and frankly a bit luck) bounce off the end boards. And one notable adventure aside (the turnover to Crosby, which ultimately came to nothing) Smith was dominant with the puck, also. Sprung Foegele for a partial break in the 2^na. He had one shot on goal late in the 3rd and missed an empty netter seconds later by only about 4-5 inches. He made 33 saves. Named 3^dr Star.

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CONNOR McDAVID. 9. Played like a driven man from the drop of the very first puck. McDavid’s 4-1 goal defended Physics, swallowing up a pass from Draisaitl, side-stepping 2 checks and then the moment the Pen’s goaltender committed…Connor snapped a hard shot over the goalie’s short-side shoulder and in. McDavid had 4 on net in all. His feed to Bouchard led to the 1-0. Earned the 2^na assist on the Kane marker. And his pass from him squirted through to Nugent-Hopkins whose rebound Hyman nudged home for the 3-1. Someone had the easy job of selecting him as the Game’s 1^st Star. Leads the league with 122 points now. Que. A. Player.

EVANDER KANE. 8. Evander Kane was a powerhouse on Connor McDavid’s left-hand side. 5 shots on net. His hard play along the wall led to the 1-0, earning him an assist. He scored the 2-1 on a firm finish on a nifty back-hand from Yamamoto. Couldn’t quite bury a 1-timer in the 1^st off a good Draisaitl feed. 5 hits. Played a near-dominating 17:24. Named Star #2. 22-17-39 in his 41 games as an Oiler and is +24!

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KAILER YAMAMOTO. 8. McDavid was indeed flying but had lots of help from his linemates. Kailer Yamamoto was net-front on the 1-0. A terrific back-handed pass set up Kane for the 2-1. Missed a nice wrap-around effort in the 1^st. Missed a gaping open net a couple shifts later. 3 shots, 2 hits, 2 blocks. Excellent performance.

BRETT KULAK. 8. Stepped into the 1LD spot with Darnell Nurse out of the lineup and stepped up with a strong performance. High Danger Scoring Chances For/Against 5v5 with him on the ice was 7-1 For, against a very good Pittsburgh Penguins club. An excellent back-track on Kapanen in the 1^st. It was his outlet dump from him to Kassian for the ENG. 3 shots, 3 hits, 2 blocks.

CODY CECI. 8. Cody Ceci was flat-out excellent against his old club. Like Kulak, HDSC 5v5 with Ceci on the ice was 7-1. earned at 2^na Assist on the ENG by Kassian. 2 shots, a block, 3:13 on the PK. His 21:11 of TOI narrowly led the D-corps. Has been everything the Oilers could have hoped for, when they signed him, plus some.

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LEON DRAISAITL. 5. The Oilers 2^na line with Leon Draisaitl at pivot had far more trouble 5v5 than the other 3 trio’s. Earned an assist on the McDavid goal with a nice pass across. Set up Kane for a 1^st Period 1-timer. Missed on one of his own. 2 shots. 2 take-aways. Drew a power play. 53% on the dot.

ZACH HYMAN. 6. Scored his 26^th on a Nugent-Hopkins rebound which Hyman swept in after providing an effective screen on the play. Over-all, this line had it’s struggles 5v5. But Hyman was also excellent in 3:28 of PK work.

RYAN McLEOD. 5. Did quite a few of the little things that you will need from a depth forward in the playoffs. 2 hits, 3 blocked shots and a very effective 1:57 on the PK. 0 points, 0 shots.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 7. Scored on a hard wrist shot short side after moving in from the point on a nice feed from McDavid. Bouchard had niftily activated away from his check to find open ice and provide Connor with a target. Watch it again if you get a chance, it was such a heady play. Just missed a 2^na goal on a wicked wrist shot but it was (correctly) called back on an appealed off-side. No assist but a nice pass in the sequence leading to the 2-1 goal. Had 6 shots in all at 19:33.

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DUNCAN KEITH. 6. Recorded his 2,000^th career blocked shot. That’s a lot of hard rubber. Blocked 5 shots in all on this night. The Corsi numbers weren’t great but when I look at my game chart, it had smart little plays in all 3 zones. One not-so-nice giveaway. But Keith has been very good (sans 1 game) for quite a while, now.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. An effective game. His wicked shot from the high, high slot created a rebound which Hyman swept home for the 3-1. Run a back-hander off the post on a partial break. He had 3 shots. Struggled a bit on the dot (38%), but excellent on the PK (3:08).

WARREN FOEGELE. 5.Solid outing. An excellent late 1^st Period back-track on Malkin. 2 shots and a hit.

DEREK RYAN. 6. Smart 2-way game. A take-away and shot in the 2^na. A neutral zone steal a shift or two later. 3 shots, 3 hits.

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KRIS RUSSELL. 6. Solid 15:18. A hit and 2 more blocks. Broke even in High Danger Scoring Chances For/Against.

Tyson Barrie. 6. A mainly even-keeled game. A couple shots on net. Earned the 2^na assist on the McDavid goal. Partially at-fault on the only goal against, but to be fair it was a wicked bounce off the end boards.

DEVIN SHORE. 6. The Oilers 4^th line was highly effective this evening. Shore had a shot and 3 hits at 10:53. He missed an assist on an off-side review that went against Edmonton. 50% on draws.

DERICK BRASSARD. 6. His best outing of him in quite a while. Brassard had an empty-netter taken away from him on a successful off-side appeal. whistled for a 2^na Period hook but it saved a goal. The coach wouldn’t have minded that one

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ZACK KASSIAN. 6. What goes around comes around. Kassian passed up an open net on the (ultimately) disallowed Brassard goal. But seconds later, he found himself all alone up the right-hand side where he potted the “actual” 5-2. to solid 2^na Period back check on Kapanen.

The Oilers play out the regular season string at home, Thursday against San Jose, then Friday against the Canucks.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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