Player grades: Draisaitl line finally hums as Edmonton Oilers stomp Pittsburgh Penguins

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Huge 4-0 win for the Edmonton Oilers, especially considering they looked like they were going to get “goalied” for the first half of the game, as Pittsburgh’s Joe Blomqvist was sensational. But when the dam finally burst, pucks flooded into the Pittsburgh net, three goals in seven minutes.

After the game, Oilers stalwarts Craig MacTavish and Randy Gregg were honoured for their outstanding play, getting named to the Wall of Fame.

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In total the Grade A shots were 27 for Edmonton, 11 for the Pens, with the subset of most dangerous 5-alarm shots being 10 to three.

Connor McDavid, 7. Good work this game, even if he had no scoring points. He charged in for two  hard outside shots on the same  earlyshift, RNH jamming the rebound on net for a Grade A shot. McD almost banked in a shot off the Pitt goalie a few shifts later. Ended the first with a fast move in the slot and another wicked shot. He won a key battle kicking off the Virtuous Cycle on Edmonton’s second goal. He hacked d-man Jack St. Ivany late in the game, punishing him for some earlier chippy play. Contributions/mistakes on Grade A shots (GAS): Even Strength +8/-2; Special Teams 0/0

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Best game of the year for RNH. He got a 5-alarm tip thirty seconds into the game and followed it up with two more Grades As in the first. He popped a slot puck on the forecheck and put it upstairs where Momma keeps the cookies for Edmonton’s third goal. GAS: ES +5/-1; ST 0/1

Zach Hyman. 7. He did everything but score, which is the story of his season to date. He got three Grade As early in the second, but missed a wide open top of net off the rebound on the second of those shots. He could not even drain two late breakaway chances. How is he not scoring? So close, so close. GAS: ES +8/-0; ST 0/0

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Leon Draisaitl, 9. Fantastic game. Major contributions to 12 Grade A shots. You can always tell he’s good to go when he’s skating close to the ice, not stiff legged, and tonight he was slithering fast and low like a python. He set up Arvidsson on the give-and-go for a hot slot shot in the first. He broke in on a breakaway off a fantastic stretch pass from Emberson in the second, but failed to beat Blomqvist on the first shot or rebound. With seven minutes left in the second, he took the puck up ice on a 2-on-1 and picked a perfect shot off the post, scoring Edmonton’s first on their 20th Grade A shot of the game. He went full beer league in the third, making one ugly whopper of a turnover to Erik Karlsson in the slot, but Skinner stopped it. GAS: ES +11/-2; ST 1/1

Viktor Arvidsson. 9. Whirling and battling and firing shots on net like the Tasmanian Devil this game. Three assists and dangerous all night. Solid battling, but failed to drain his Grade A in the first. A moment later he grabbed his own rebound and blasted a 5-alarmer on goal. Slick board play to set up the 2-on-1 on Draisaitl’s second period goal. Great pass to set up Bouchard for Edmonton’s second. He won the face-off leading to Ekholm’s power play goal. He went super hard into the boards late in the third, but no penalty to Pittsburgh on the play. GAS: ES +8/-0; ST 1/0

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Vasili Podkolzin, 8. Some solid work in a support role on Edmonton’s best line. He busted in hard off the wing and forced a dangerous shot on net in the first. Pounced on a rebound off Draisaitl’s second period breakaway but failed to drain it. A moment later he failed to sink a tip shot on a 3-on-1 rush. He got his first point as an Oiler on Bouchard’s goal. GAS: ES +7/-0; ST 0/0

Jeff Skinner, 5. The third line got little done.He had a third period breakaway but got hooked and his shot missed the net. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Adam Henrique, 5. Quiet game, but hard to fail anyone on such a night. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST 0/0

Connor Brown, 5. Got his stick on a dangerous Kevin Hayes shot attempt early on, helping to nudge it wide. Otherwise not much to report. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0/0

Mattias Janmark, 7. Some good work. His hustle led to a McDavid Grade A late in the first, then he won the puck again in the second to help set up a Hyman one-timer. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0/0

Derek Ryan, 6. Some good moments out there, a few mistakes. He sifted two tricky backhanders on net off an Emberson outside shot in the first.  GAS: ES +3/-3; ST 0/0

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Corey Perry, 6. He was quiet this game until he drew a penalty, than executed a Total Eclipse of the Sun screen on Ekholm’s goal.  GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 1/0

Evan Bouchard, 7. The complaints were starting to sound about Bouchard not scoring this year, but he cooly waited for his best shot in the high slot and picked the corner late in the second.  Otherwise had his usual game with plenty of great passes and a few defensive gaffes. GAS: ES +5/-3; ST 1/1

Mattias Ekholm, 8. The Oil’s best d-man in this one. He took the puck up ice and went to the net, opening space for Hyman’s early second period 5-alarmer. He made a solid pinch to kick off RNH’s goal-scoring sequence. He fired in a power play shot through Perry’s screen. GAS: ES +4/-2; ST 1/0

Darnell Nurse, 8. Solid game, and an extra mark for standing up for Arvidsson, pounding out Marcus Pettersson, who boarded Arvidsson dangerously. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0/0

Troy Stecher, 7. His best game as an Oilers. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. He launched a hard shot off a tricky Edmonton rush in the second, but, again, Blomqvist came up big. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0/0

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Ty Emberson, 8. He keeps moving the puck like this, he’ll stick in the line-up. Excellent stretch pass to send in Draisaitl in the second. He also kept a clean sheet. GAS: ES +5/-0; ST 0/0

Brett Kulak, 7. Solid game, quiet game. Another with a clean sheet. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0/0

Stuart Skinner, 8. He got ‘er done. Little action in the first half of the game, just two Grade A shots as the Oilers fired 19 on the Pitt net. Pittsburgh came alive, though, getting seven of the next eight Grade As, including one 5-alarmer but Skinner stopped them all. Massive saves off Karlsson five minutes into the third, then off Noel Acciari of a 2-on-1 shorthand break-in a moment later.

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