My thoughts on the game:
Archibald: Solid game overall. Not overly effective 5v5, but great effort, and really good on the PK, with the shortie to seal it as the cherry on top.
Bear: Another good game from Bear with no glaring mistakes I can remember. Offensively he’s had better games, but no need to complain here.
Benning: It‘s always a good thing when Benning is not a liability and when he is not overplayed he has shown quite consistently that he can be a solid bottom pairing defenseman.
Chiasson: Really liked Chiasson this game. He played his role perfectly. There were a couple of miscues and that penalty at the end was just dumb, but he was still mostly good.
Draisaitl: Best player on the ice. He didn’t go for any crazy passes and just dominated almost every shift he was out there. It’s kind of insane that he has still not scored a hattrick in this league (unless I missed it). The GWG was a thing of beauty. Yamamoto had no way to pass the puck in front of Drai so he could really take it in stride, and the only pass he could make was difficult as hell, but Yams played that perfectly, and Drai just picked the puck up at his side without losing a step went backhand –> forehand in a flash and got that shot off in a hurry.
Gagner: If this is the Gagner we get every night, I am ok with him in the lineup. Him missing the net entirely from a perfect position in the slot was painful, but he also did a lot of things right.
Haas: I thought he had a couple of weaker games before the break and then sat out against the Flames. But he came back strong. He had a few very nice defensive plays taking away the pucks from the Blues and then transition quickly the other way. Maybe he needed the break to recharge a bit, since he’s not used to this kind of schedule.
Jones: Another guy who had solid game, and he scored a goal (with a little help from Mr. Allen) to boost. He was mostly good defensively and made some really nice outlet passes that we don’t get to see often from this team.
Kassian: Not a good game by Kass. Also not really bad, but the games since they split up Connor and Leon clearly show that you have a problem when you look to Kassian to be the second best forward on the 1st line. I like Kass, even on that line, but you need a better player than Neal or Archi (not a knock on them) on the other wing. Any one of these guys especially Kassian and Archi could be a solid complimentary 3rd winger with McDavid, but you need one more legit scoring/playmaking winger on that line.
Khaira: I really don’t want to write anything about his play. It’s just depressing.
Klefbom: There was some bad decision making in his game and I really want to see the PP without him, but I don’t think he was awful. Still, he was like the 5th best defenseman for the Oilers.
Koskinen: Good, solid job by Koski. He came up with some big and timely saves and gave this team a chance to win.
Larsson: That’s the Larsson I like to see. Physical, good positioning and almost no stupid plays. He has his limitations, but when he plays to his strengths, he is very important for this team.
McDavid: Shoot!!!! You’re not playing with Drai anymore. Please at least occasionally shoot the damn puck. Not a bad game, but against a stingy, physical team like the Blues that has really good defensive forwards and defensemen, there was no way he could provide much offense with Archi and Kassian on his wings. He did what he could to keep the Blues busy which probably made things easier for Drai, Nuge and Yams. Not his best game, but he did what he could do under the circumstances to help his team win.
Nugent-Hopkins: He got a little overshadowed by the dominant performance from Drai and the amazing game played by Yamamoto, but Nuge had strong game in his own right. He did a lot of little stuff that often goes unnoticed. I really like the setup of this line, especially when they get an offensive zone faceoff. Whenever Drai wins those clean to Nuge, he just shoots right away and Yamamoto heads straight for net for a potential rebound.
Nurse: He was the worst of the Oilers defenseman and luckily it did not cost them in the end. He just kept making bad/questionable decisions both with and without the puck. Hopefully he will get back to the way he played earlier this season. Because when he is good, he can be very good, but when he is bad, he is very bad.
Russell: Not a good game. He had one very good and one very bad player on his line. Unfortunately he played more like the very bad one, which is really sad, because I want him to score a goal so badly.
Sheahan: His line was mostly bad, but I thought Riley played as well as you can expect anyone to play when your linemates play like Khaira and Russell did in this game. He won faceoffs, he won puck battles and at one time he basically managed to hem the Blues in their own zone by himself. That must have been a tough game for him.
Yamamoto: Yet another wonderful game for the little spark plug. I love that he plays such a physical game battling for pucks in the corners, but he doesn’t do it recklessly or blindly. He understands when it is better to avoid a check and when it makes sense to absorb or initiate a check in order to win the puck for his team. He is really smart like that and you can see that same smarts when you watch him get into scoring positions around the net. In his first games after being called up I kept wondering how that little guy got to front of the net against all those big defensemen. It’s just a pleasure to watch him out there. He just seems so happy to be there and he reminds a little bit of Draisaitl after his call up in the 15-16 season. His play has basically been telling the coaching staff from his first game: “I am here to stay. There is no way you’re sending me back to Bakersfield”.
