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Oilers 2, Kraken 1
Let’s give credit to the Seattle Kraken. They played an A-level game on Saturday afternoon. The home club, fighting hard for a playoff spot, played hard for 60 minutes and continued to fight until the final moments of time.
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But let’s also give credit to the Edmonton Oilers. The visitors hung around long enough, scoring their first goal of the game midway through the second, then their second midway through the third.Two of his goals, a decent team effort, and a great net mind for the team. stu skinner That was just enough for the oil company to win 2-1 in regulation.
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Shots on net were close at 25-24 Seattle, but the Kraken had the upper hand in play in their territory, making 52 shot attempts compared to 63. cult of hockey The hosts had a significant 17-10 advantage on Grade A shots, including a 7-3 on the most dangerous five-alarm shot (running count). Skinner was fully worthy of the First Star honor.
With this win, the Oilers ended up moving one point ahead of Vegas for second place in the Pacific Division, holding on to three games after the Golden Knights subsequently lost 7-2 in Buffalo.
Player performance
#2 Evan Bouchard, 6 years old. It was a quiet game offensively, but more importantly it was a quiet game defensively as well. During the 20 minutes of even play, the Kraken had just three shots on net compared to Edmonton’s 10. For the most part, he kept things tidy, including some great defensive play to thwart Yanni Gould’s rush. Grade A Shot Contribution (GAS): Even Strength +1/-0; Special Teams +0/-0.
#5 Kodi Ceci, 6. Edmonton’s second pair spent a little more time in their own zone, but Ceci developed a strong positioning game and did a decent job of limiting dangerous shots. Gas: ES +0/-1; ST+0/-0.
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#10 Derek Ryan, 5 years old. We played quietly for 10 minutes, and for the most part, things were tidy. 1 shot, 1 block, 1 hit, 3/5=60% on the faceoff dot. Gas: ES +1/-1; ST+0/-1.
#13 Matthias Jeanmarc, 6. Offensively, he had a strong game, taking two dangerous shots on goal and contributing to two more with some great passes to his team-mates who continued to attack in the neutral zone. He made a key shot block. Great along the boards in his own zone. He failed to cut out Seattle’s only goal, a seam pass scored on the power play. Gas: ES +4/-1; ST+0/-1.
#14 Matthias Ekholm, 6 years old. Like his partner Bouchard, he kept the play moving in the right direction, and the Oilers enjoyed a 7-2 shot share during 18 even minutes of playing time. His only mistake was on the penalty kill, where he ventured to the far-board bench to grab a new stick and hit a Grade A shot from the side of the ice. Gas: ES +0/-0; ST+0/-1.
#18 Zach Hyman, 5. They were quiet offensively with just one shot on net, but did most of their work in the opposite direction. Gas: +0/-1; ST+0/-0.
#25 Darnell Nurse, 6 years old. His own tower of power, winning the battle of both speed and strength and boasting equal strength. Did a good job of protecting the puck and moving it in the right direction under pressure. He hit several strong outside shots that hit the net. But Seattle’s lone goal came at a cost as it expanded to take multiple options, as Eeli Tolvanen’s shot deflected off his glove and hit Skinner in the legs as he tried to navigate through the maze. Gas: +0/-1; ST+0/-1.
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#27 Brett Clack, 6 years old. Had some adventures with his own seat end and was bailed out by Skinner many times. However, he returned the favor with an emergency defensive play that may have saved the goal. All he did on the other end was score the winning goal with an outside shot through traffic that somehow found a hole. Gas: ES +1/-5; ST+0/-0.
#28 Connor Brown, 4. Shot share was OK, but there were very few valuable moments on the offensive end. There were some struggles on penalties, including getting shredded on a pass across the ice that led to Seattle’s goal. Gas: ES +0/-1; ST+0/-2.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 8. He took the lead with a one-timer off a McDavid feed from his favorite spot in the right faceoff circle. He assisted the winner with a pass from a corner kick, and the subsequent goalkeeper screen also played a role. He stunned Will Borgen with a powerful reverse hit, but Seattle’s stingy scorers (the Oilers only had five hits in the game!) didn’t notice. After playing most of the game on the wing, he made several strong shifts at center as the Oilers defended their lead. However, they made a mistake late in the game with an overly aggressive forecheck, resulting in a penalty 160 feet from their own net with 53 seconds left in the game, forcing their teammates to protect a narrow 4-6 lead. Or should I say 4+Skinner v6? Gas: ES +3/-0; ST+1/-0.
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#37 Warren Vogel, 5. A fairly quiet game with a few flashes. His best moment was converting a close chance with a nifty inside move and deft pass to Perry that created the Oilers’ power play. Gas: ES +2/-1; ST+0/-0.
#55 Dylan Holloway, 5. He played for 9 minutes and 27 seconds, the lowest on the team, but didn’t stand out. They lost the attack behind their own net that led to Seattle’s chances. Gas: ES +0/-1; ST+0/-0.
#71 Ryan McLeod, 5. For a game with so few events, you spend a bit too much time in chase mode. He made a nice steal to break up a 2-on-1 with Vogele, but his shot was blocked by Alex Wennberg’s diving defense. 1 shot, 1 block, 1 takeaway. Gas: ES +1/-2; ST+0/-0.
#73 Vincent Descharnais, 6. He and his partner got a +2 in the game 2-1, but had some adventures along the way. He crushed Matty Beniers with a heavy hit that woke up Seattle’s minor scorer. He earned a +1 grade for his spectacular 4-on-6 shift in the final minutes of the game. He blocked two shots, dived for a dangerous rebound, blocked a centering pass and ate both the puck and the stick aimed at it for good value. The seconds were ticking. He finished the game with 6 blocks, 4 more than any other Oiler. Gas: +0/-3; ST+0/-0.
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#74 Stu Skinner, 9. From the first moment he threw eyeballs at Gould until the end, he made three spectacular stops to seal the victory. He also rocked Jordan Ebert with a rushing blocker stop early on, deflected Jared McCann’s slot rocket and fended off Vince Dunn’s drive through traffic. Those who find it online are most out of luck. He was a little slow moving the puck a few times, but also made some great passes that led to chances for Jean-Marc. He made three great stops in the game’s dramatic final moments, robbing Eely Tolvanen, Jordan Ebert and then Tolvanen again with seconds left. Ebert’s stop was particularly impressive as he had an outstanding game. 25 shots, 24 saves, .960 save percentage, +1.78 goals saved above expectations.
#90 Corey Perry, 5. Their possession numbers were poor, but they had some good moments without the puck. He and/or his stick were in good position defensively to fend off several Seattle attacks. He lost a board battle that led to a Kraken chance. He received Vogele’s pass and gave the opposition a golden chance to find the back of the net, earning a penalty in the process. Gas: ES +1/-1; ST+0/-0.
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#91 Evander Kane, 6 years old. Janmark’s stunning one-timer cross-seam pass almost clicked. He made a strong outside-to-inside move and hit a powerful slot shot, forcing one of Philipp Grubauer’s best stops. His inability to clear the puck from just inside his own blue line led to some dangerous shots for Seattle. Gas: ES +3/-3; ST+0/-0.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 4. Not really his day. His outlet pass in the first minute took an unfriendly right bounce to Gould, creating a great chance. He assisted Kulak’s goal with a pass to the point. With eight minutes remaining, he grabbed Alex Wennberg’s shoulder during a routine board battle and received a close holding penalty, leading to Seattle’s only goal. It played a role in the tense ending, as they lost a 4-6 duel that gave them a quick chance, and then lost a fight that led to another. 0 shots on net. Gas: ES +3/-4; ST+0/-2.
#97 Connor McDavid, 7 years old. He played for 22 minutes and 45 seconds and led the front group. They showed a wonderful series of developments to take the lead. He started with some good defense in his own crease, dominated Ty Cartier in the corner, then picked up speed on the counterattack and finally set up Draisaitl’s one-timer with a great seam pass. He extended his most recent scoring streak to 10 games, marking the 15th time in his career that he has scored in double digits, tying him for second place on the all-time list behind Guy Lafleur. (Wayne Gretzky’s 31 is safe for the time being!) The Kraken played 5-on-5 for about 19 minutes and had a strong defense with only 3 shots on net, with coverage against Gould’s short-handed rush. It wasn’t the best. He took a powerful shot off the rush that went past Grubauer but narrowly missed the post. He lost several one-on-one battles to Seattle’s Brandon Tanev and Borgen, drawing jeers and hollers from the home crowd, but he and his team had the last laugh. Gas: ES +3/-0; ST+0/-0.
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