Mike Smith stands tall as the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Senators for the 9th consecutive time: Game Grades

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Excellent goaltending & special teams earned the Edmonton Oilers a 3-1-win Thursday and 2 regulation points in Ottawa.

The win runs the Oilers season record against the beleaguered Senators to a perfect 9-0.

Ottawa played an excellent game and probably deserved better. But the scoreboard at the final buzzer is always the final determination.

And in the end, Edmonton dug deep and brought a “B-” game with “B+ effort for the victory.

Here’s the tale of the tape.

Edmonton Oilers Game Grades

MIKE SMITH. 9. “10’s” are reserved for perfect games. But let’s be abundantly clear: The Oilers do not win this game without Mike Smith. Made 39 saves. An early stop in Paul in the 1st set the tone. A late 2nd Period stop on Stutlze. Stoned Paul again in the 3rd. Stuffed Chabot on a partial break. And to cap it all off, he stoned Tkachuk in the dying seconds. Twice in the dying moments Smith cleared the Defensive Zone on his own. Smith is now 14-3-2, with a .922 SV% on the season. The easiest 1st Star pick made this season. Maybe.

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CONNOR McDAVID. 6. The primary assist on the Yamamoto Power Play goal. 4 shots of his own, in 23:56 which is lots on back-to-back nights. But McDavid contributed elsewhere, too. A tremendous 2nd Period back-check on an Ottawa odd-man rush sure caught my eye. A sharp take-away and shot later that same frame. Then made an ice-in-the-veins clear in front of his own net at the buzzer to end the 2nd frame. A good chance off a feed from Nurse in the 3rd but couldn’t convert.

LEON DRAISAITL. 5. Did not have a repeat of last night’s fabulous offensive performance. But as they say, when you’re not scoring…what else are you doing for the team? Draisaitl was excellent on the other side of the puck. Levelled 2 heavy hits on Tkachuk and Zaitsev. 60% in the circle and took most of the Nugent-Hopkins’ PK time with a clean 1:13 sheet. One give-away but he busted his ass to get back and help cover it up.

JESSE PULJUJARVI. 6. Jesse Puljujarvi was rewarded with a solid stretch of play (but nothing much to show for it) with a shift in the final minute to protect a lead and Puljujarvi potted the empty netter to boot. Had 3 shots earlier, including a wrister off a pass by Draisaitl early in the 2nd. The 2 hooked up again later in the period but Jesse was again denied. Led the Oilers in 5v5 CF (26-18, 59%).

DARNELL NURSE. 6. Led the club in ice-time with a heavy 26:33 on the 2nd of back-to-backs. 3 shots, a block, and a pristine 2:27 on the PK. He and partner Barrie narrowly won the chances for-against battle 5v5 on a night when Ottawa outshot the Oilers 40-23.

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TYSON BARRIE. 6. Barrie earned an assist on the power play goal with a pass from the point. Had 3 shots and a block in his steadiest defensive performance in about 5 games (No turnovers, 5v5 CF 28-21, 57%).

GAETAN HAAS. 4. Gaetan Haas tripped the puck off young Stutzle in the neutral zone for a 1st Period breakaway but he could not cash on the forehand backhand deke. But was quiet otherwise. -1, 13% on the faceoff dot. In fairness, we know Haas is nicked up and was in the lineup because Nugent-Hopkins couldn’t go. Useful context.

KAILER YAMAMOTO. 6. Snapped an 11-game goal-less streak with a Power Play marker in the dirty area in front. Couldn’t convert on a setup from Haas. Was otherwise crushed in chances for-against. Played just 11:08.

DOMINIK KAHUN. 4. Very quiet. Made a nice defensive play along the wall in his own zone early in the 1st. 0 shots. -1.

KRIS RUSSELL. 5. The soon-to-be-34-year-old veteran turned in a gritty 19:42 on the 2nd of back-to-backs. It was a classic “bend but don’t break” performance by him. But it also included a perfect 1:33 on the PK. I thought his best performance was skating a puck out of his own zone under extreme pressure to safety. Had a good chance in front off a pass by Turris.

ADAM LARSSON. 5. 2 hits, 2 blocks, a clean 1:47 on the kill. I didn’t have him down for a single major mistake against despite having to battle in his own zone (too) much of the evening. Larsson sure is dialled in these days. Larsson is contributing quality minutes game-in and game-out.

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KYLE TURRIS. 3. In a game where the absence of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins due to injury gave Turris an opportunity to elevate his play. Turris didn’t. His lone offensive flash was a nice pass out of the corner to an activated Kris Russell in the high slot. Failed to get the puck deep & turned it over in the 2nd. Missed a streaking Kassian with a headman pass. Just 33% in the circle.

ALEX CHIASSON. 6. Played a key role on the Yamamoto Power Play goal by raising a ruckus and distracting the defenders and goaltender in front. Unlucky to not draw an Assist on the play. There are those that wonder why Chiasson is on the man advantage. Little plays like this are why.

ZACK KASSIAN. 5. Showed some signs of breaking out of his funk. Delivered 6 hits. Had a dangerous chance on a 2nd Period wrap-around that he early tucked in. Fed Ethan Bear for a good opportunity. Nearly snuck behind the Ottawa defence in the 2nd but Turris couldn’t hit him with the pass. Should have drawn a penalty on a 3rd Period power move to the net. More, please.

CALEB JONES. 6. Perhaps the kid took a step forward tonight? A much steadier performance tonight, even though the shot-shares were not in his favor while on the ice. Shook off a 1st Period give-away and turned in 2 hits and a block in 13:35. Did a good job of getting his wrist shot through from the point for Shore to re-direct in.

ETHAN BEAR. 5. 3 blocked shots and +1 in 15:43. But as per above, the pairing spent a lot of time in their own end. I saw him good on a hard-working 3rd Period clear of his own zone.

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DEVIN SHORE. 7. What a revelation this guy has turned out to be. Scored the winning goal with a lovely tip in front. But while that was certainly the highlight, I had positive checkmarks all over my game chart for Shore. A key 3rd Period take-away.

JOSH ARCHIBALD. 6. His forecheck and hit created the sequence that led to the eventual winning goal. The hit was one of 4 for Archibald on the night. Led all forwards with 2:17 on the PK.

JUJHAR KHAIRA. 7. Rewarded with an assist with a clean pass back to Jones on the point on the 2-1. And reliable. A huge 60% in the circle tonight. 1:28 of scoreless power play work. Led the team with 7 hits. Has come miles.

The win leaves the Oilers to 25-14-2 on the season. According to Oilers Colour Commentator Bob Stauffer, it is 22-8-2 over their last 32.

The Jets beat the Canadiens 4-2, so the Oilers gap on 4th place is now 9 points.
And Edmonton remains within 5 of 1st Place Toronto.

Next up? Calgary on Saturday.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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