Hockey Inside Out Games, News and Opinions | Montreal Gazette
- Advertisement 2Stories continue below
Player grades: Edmonton Oilers "make things stressful" but shut down Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 win
“We know how to make things stressful,” said Connor McDavid after it was all over, something of an understatement even as the Edmonton Oilers gutted out a 3-2 win in Game 7 over the Vancouver Canucks. Never in doubt, as my Cult of Hockey colleague Bruce McCurdy likes to say. The Oilers came close to letting Vancouver back in the game in the last minutes, until a smart time-out by coach Kris Knoblauch after Vancouver’s second goal calmed the team. Vancouver did not have a Grade A shot on net after that. But for much of the game, the Oil’s defensive play was outstanding, I’d always hoped the Oilers would finally get one strong checking line, but out of nowhere, it seems, Knoblauch has come up with two of them (Ryan, McLeod, Foegele and Brown, Carrick, Janmark). Again, they were not perfect, but did solid work all game, bottling the Canucks up with relentless and tenacious checking. The defensive effort was particularly adept at guarding the Edmonton slot, a huge weakness in other playoff seasons, but evidently a priority of this Oilers team. They’re tired of losing to inferior teams, it would seem. In the end, the Grade A shots in the game were 13 for the Oilers, eight for Vancouver, with the subset of 5-alarm shots four for Edmonton, just three for the Canucks. The score was indicative of the overall play. Connor McDavid, 7. He did not go supernova this game but he and his buds got the jobs done in a gritty effort. He finally got rolling on Edmonton’s early second period power play, moving for a slot shot that Hyman almost jammed home. He lost the faceoff leading to Vancouver’s second goal. He played just 20:31, a testament to the team effort. #97 Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength: +1/-1; Special Teams +3/-0. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 8. Great game, huge goal. His special team success continued with solid PK work in the first, then he jumped on Bouchard’s rebound on the power play to snap in Edmonton’s third goal. A back-breaker of a goal, putting up the Oilers up three and coming late in the second. #93 GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-1 Zach Hyman, 7. Came through once more. He charged up ice and went hard to the net for an early Grade A. He executed a solid puck protect, pass, goalie screen, and tipped shot on Edmonton’s second goal, with Arturs Silovs caught looking out on the wrong side of Hyman on Evan Bouchard’s outside shot. #18 GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +0/-0 Leon Draisaitl, 7. He got on ice for just 4:09 in the first, while J.T. Miller was at 9:10. He flubbed a power play one-timer attempt in the second, then got stoned by Cole/Silovs on a deadly harpoon a moment later. He made the pass to set up Bouchard’s one-timer on Edmonton’s third goal. He had some mistakes on defence in the second but blocked Garland’s shard shot late in the period. He allowed Di Guiseppe in on a third period breakaway but the Canuck missed the net. But some solid defensive plays in the last minutes. #29 GAS: ES +1/-3; ST +4/-0 Evander Kane, 6. He blasted Cole with a hard hit in the first. In a battle for supremacy of the Apex Predators, he out-raced Nikita Zadorov for a puck and almost scored on his break-in. #91 GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Dylan Holloway, 7. He’s flying out there. Jumped on a loose puck and fired on net for Kulak’s great rebound shot early in the first. He won the face-off then executed a fly-by screen on Ceci’s goal. He launched a one-timer harpoon on net a moment later off a Draisaitl cross-ice pass. #55 GAS: ES +3/-2; ST +0/-0 Ryan McLeod, 5. Good game but one ugly mistake. He threw a hit, won a board battle and set up Ryan for a decent shot early on. But he got his stick up, taking a four-minute penalty late in the first, ending a rough shift against the Miller line. He breathed some life into the Canucks when he whiffed on an own zone pass in the third, allowing Connor Garland a clear shot and goal. #71, GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1 Derek Ryan, 7. He shut things down, which is his job. He charged in early on and almost jammed in a misplayed puck by Silovs. Part of strong PK late in first. #10, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Warren Foegele, 5 . Another PK star of the Oilers. He went to the wrong man on a Vancouver rush, leading to the Canucks first Grade A shot of the game, 31 minutes into the match. A few mistakes in his own zone. #37, GAS: ES +0/-2; ST +0/-1 Sam Carrick, 7 . His best game as an Oiler. He played a part in Edmonton’s second goal, keeping alive the o-zone cycle. Threw two thumping hits on Zadorov in the second. His line had a great shift cycling the puck deep early in the third. #39 GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0 Connor Brown, 7 . A key cog in Edmonton’s strong defence. Part of huge first period PK effort, earned himself a breakaway but failed to drain it. He kicked off the Virtuous Cycle on Edmonton’s second goal, rushing the puck into the Vancouver zone and making a solid pass. But a mental error in the third, a clearance of the puck that went out for a penalty. The coach had him out in the final minute to hold on to the win. #28, GAS: ES +2/-0; ST +01/-0 Mattias Janmark, 8. One more solid game from one of Edmonton’s most under-rated players. He jumped up for a great wrap-around pass but Carrick could not get a handle on his pass. He won a PK battle to set up Brown’s breakaway. He allowed Hronek’s outside shot on their second goal. The coach had him out in the last minute and he made a key shotblock with on Millers with 13 seconds left. #13, GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +1/-0 Evan Bouchard, 8. He snapped home an outside shot through Hyman’s screen to score a Californian( named for Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, who executed so many of these screened or tipped outside shot goals against the Oilers). His ripping slapper missed the net on the power play late in the second, but RNH was able to get the rebound and deposit it. His ill-timed icing led to the face-off where Vancouver got its second goal. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. #02, GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0 Mattias Ekholm, 7. Just keeps churning out the good games. Some excellent PK clearances on the first. He kept the puck in leading up to Edmonton’s second goal. He screened Skinner on Vancouver’s second goal. #14, GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +0/-0 Darnell Nurse, 6. He was heading off the ice before the puck left the zone, contributing to Mikheyev’s great chance early on. He won a key battle on the late first period kill. Solid all game, just a few glitches on defence. #25, GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1 Vincent Desharnais, 6. A few struggles with the puck. His early turnover led to Ilya Mikheyev’s breakaway chance. But sound on defence, keeping a clean sheet, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. #73, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-1 Cody Ceci, 7. Solid defence all game. Part of a fine first period PK effort. He ripped an outside shot through a screen for Edmonton’s first goal, a perfectly executed Californian. He charged the net a moment later and almost scored. #05, GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +0/-0 Brett Kulak, 7 . A good game, another one in the playoffs for Kool Kulak. He almost beat Silovs 90 seconds in with a 5-alarm shot. He had a crucial shot block on Garland half-way through the third. #27, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Stuart Skinner, 7 . Not a lot of action but was big when called upon. He stared down Ilya Mikheyev on an early breakaway chance and won the challenge, the Russian missing the net on his deke. But then came the Canucks push-back. He stopped Lafferty’s break-in shot in the second, his first Grade A save of the game. Next, he stopped a dangerous tipped shot, followed up by a difficult Garland snipe off a low-high pass through many moving bodies, and a save off Di Giuseppe through a Nurse screen. He twarted Pius Suter’s dangerous slot shot in the third and came up huge on a 5-alarm blast from Elias Pettersson on his doorstep on Van’s third period power play. He got beat clean by Garland. There was a heavy screen on the second goal.
- Advertisement 3Stories continue below
Bring on the Stars: Edmonton Oilers KO Canucks in Game 7 triumph
It was a Game 7 that left both teams seeing stars. The Vancouver Canucks because they got knocked out and the Edmonton Oilers because they’ll be taking on Dallas in the next round. In a series-clinching showdown in Vancouver, the Oilers won the unofficial Canadian championship and punched their ticket to a second Western Conference Final in three years by taking out the upstart Canucks in an unnecessarily close 3-2 finale. Hockey fans hoping for some white-knuckle drama in the deciding game didn’t get much of it until the waning moments when Ryan McLeod horrendous third-period gaffe gave the dead and buried Canucks life. Up until that point the game wasn’t even close as Edmonton grabbed the contest by the throat from the opening faceoff and never let go. They outshot Vancouver 13-2 in the first period, outscored them 3-0 in the second period and were eight and a half minutes from cruising to the win. Then McLeod, who doesn’t have a point in the playoffs, almost turned the tide when turned the puck over on a soft play in front of his net to cut Edmonton’s lead to 3-1 and ignite the crowd in Vancouver. Sure enough, Vancouver rode the momentum and made it 3-2 on Flip Hronek’s goal with 4:36 to play. Suddenly the whitewash turned into a wild finish, but Edmonton’s poise won the day. Even with Vancouver’s biggest and most desperate push of the series, they only managed five shots in the third period. “We know how to make it stressful,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “We kind of gave one away there to make it interesting and it gets a little chaotic from there, you can expect that. “We knew it was going to be a tight game. I don’t think anyone came in here thinking it was going to be a cake walk. It was tight and I thought we did a great job of responding. It was a great time out by Kris to settle everyone down and from there on out it was a really solid rest of the period.” Credit the Canucks, they’re a scrappy little team that kept the series going for longer than most people expected, but the separation was evident for most of the series. They were outshot 106-58 in Games 2, 3 and 4, outscored 5-1 in Game 6 and were being outshot 23-4 midway through Game 7. It was too close for comfort at times, but Edmonton wasn’t going to be denied. “They’re a good team and if you give them any life they’re going to push,” said forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “I thought we did a good job staying composed, not imploding and having each other’s backs. “It’s never going to be easy in a Game 7 against good hockey team but we found a way.” Dallas bound For the Oilers, the road gets considerably tougher from here on in. They’ll have a short turnaround before opening the Western Conference Final against a powerhouse Dallas team that has already taken down the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche in six games each. Edmonton and Dallas met three times this season with each side posting a 4-3 decision and the Stars whipping the Oilers 5-0 in the last meeting on April 3. “They’re a great team, it’s the conference finals, you’re going to play a great team,” said McDavid. “They’re as deep a team as you’re going to find in the NHL. Four lines, six D men and they have a great goaltender. It will be a great test but we’re looking forward to it.” Surrender In a continuation of their bizarre pre-game ritual celebrating the year they got swept in the Final and complained about the officiating, Vancouver had somebody skate out in a Canucks jersey and wave a white towel. They carried the surrender theme into a first period where they were outshot 13-2. But the first period was a microcosm of the series. Edmonton controlled the play and had the vast majority of chances but couldn’t put a dent in Vancouver goalie Arturs Silovs. Worm turns Vancouver’s luck ran out in the second period, though. Cody Ceci drew first blood (with the shots 14-2) at 1:16 and Zach Hyman tipped Evan Bouchard’s point shot home at 5:50 to make it 2-0. A power play marker from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 15:22 gave Edmonton its first goal on the man advantage since Game 3 and gave the Oilers a three-goal cushion at the second intermission. Nugent-Hopkins caught fire offensively in this series, counting for 10 points in the seven games, including a goal and an assist in the clincher. Killing it Edmonton’s penalty killing has been sensational in the playoffs and was again in Game 7. It outshot Vancouver 1-0 with Ryan McLeod serving a double-minor for high sticking late in the first period, with the only scoring chance of the Canucks power play coming when Edmonton’s Connor Brown had a breakaway. With the Canucks running out of time in the third period, Edmonton killed off another one on the third to make it 14-straight kills since Game 3. “It’s something that we take so much pride in all season and this is why,” said Nugent-Hopkins. “It can be a difference maker and we’re proud that it was tonight.” Ouch With the Oilers up 3-0 in the third period, Vancouver fans added insult to injury by breaking into a chant of “Let’s Go Petey” in an effort to wake Elias Pettersson from his month-long playoff slumber. It’s all kinds of cringe-worthy when the future of the franchise, a guy who just signed an eight-year extension that will pay him $11.6 million a year, has to be urged on with sympathy cheers like the slowest kid in a Grade 3 gym class. E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
- Advertisement 4Stories continue below
For new Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, this question won't be answered on Tuesday
The question that will be on the minds of most won’t have an answer when Craig Berube is introduced as the new Maple Leafs coach on Tuesday morning. What will Berube do to guide the Leafs’ best players to the point that they can be actual difference-makers in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Everything else lined up for Berube’s predecessor, Sheldon Keefe, in the latter’s tenure of 4 1/2 years as Leafs coach. Under Keefe, the Leafs recorded three consecutive 100-point regular seasons, a fact that no other man who has stood behind the Toronto bench can use as a bragging right. When the hockey mattered most, though, we know what happened: The Leafs couldn’t break through in the playoffs and, when they did advance to the second round a year ago, the usual refrain resumed. In three of its four losses to Florida in a series that went just five games, Toronto lost by one goal. This spring, Keefe didn’t have the usage of a full lineup in the first round against the Boston Bruins for all seven games and, by that, of course, we’re referring to William Nylander’s migraines and Auston Matthews’ illness and head injury that caused the club’s best forwards to miss time. We’ll never know if the outcome would have been different had Nylander and Matthews both been healthy for every game. You have to entertain the idea, though, that the scales would have been tipped in the Leafs’ favour and, if so, then the narrative today changes. Having said that, we would have picked the Panthers to beat the Leafs in the second round. The elephant-in-the-room type of question that goes hand-in-hand with Berube’s ability to squeeze more from the Leafs’ stars in the post-season, of course, is which core players will be remaining when the puck drops for opening night of the regular season. Extensions for Matthews and Nylander start this coming season, extensions that were authored by general manager Brad Treliving with Matthews signing last August and Nylander this past January. With those contracts, Treliving tied the Leafs’ future to the backs of Matthews and Nylander. Captain John Tavares, with one year left on his contract, might not be asked to waive his no-move clause. With Mitch Marner, it could be much different. If the Leafs make true on their desire to make core changes, even the most casual of observers take that to mean that Marner will be asked to consider waiving his no-move clause. If Marner decides he doesn’t want to do that — and we go back two weeks ago when he said his wish was to remain with the Leafs for the long term — then Treliving’s off-season becomes that much more intriguing. There would be many worse things than having Marner back in 2024-25 for the Leafs to finish his contract. No matter what Marner has or has not done in the playoffs, though, watching him walk in free agency next summer with zero return would be a major blow to the organization. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. If Berube wants a chance to coach Marner with the rest of the core, perhaps giving him that opportunity could bear playoff fruit in the end. That leads to another question, though: What could reasonably be deemed as playoff success in Toronto? Is it Berube coaching the team beyond the first round next spring? Do people really think that Berube is suddenly going to turn the Leafs into legitimate Cup contenders in one year? As it stands today, we can’t say with certainty that the Leafs will be any better under Berube than they were under Keefe. Look at this past regular season — Keefe coached the Leafs to a 102-point season through a minefield that included injuries to key players and goaltending that found consistency elusive at times. All the while, Treliving’s words that the Leafs defence corps was a work in progress hung in the air. And yet, defensive play was not the reason the Leafs lost in seven games to the Bruins. The Leafs played tight hockey, especially in the latter stages of the series. We hate to break it to you, but if the Leafs weren’t being held properly accountable within their four dressing room walls, they wouldn’t have persevered like they did in the regular season and they wouldn’t have played smart defensive hockey in the playoffs. At no time did the Leafs quit on Keefe. Berube won the Cup in 2019 with St. Louis after taking over mid-season when Mike Yeo was fired in Nov. 2018. The Blues, though, never got close to hoisting the silver mug again with Berube as coach and his regular-season record in the past several years wasn’t on par with Keefe’s. The Leafs have to figure out what’s happening with Marner, Treliving has to get it right with the changes he is bound to make in goal and he has to find a way to turn his defence corps into one that is no longer a work in progress. Lance Hornby looks back at the 15 Maple Leafs coaches he has chronicled SIMMONS SAYS: On second thought, Craig Berube was a good hire for the Maple Leafs As for Berube’s impact on the core and how that is measured in success next spring? Sure, Berube will be a different voice than Keefe was. But that question can’t be answered on Tuesday when Berube and Treliving hold court at the Ford Performance Centre. tkoshan@postmedia.com X: @koshtorontosun
- Advertisement 5Stories continue below
- Advertisement 6Stories continue below