Player grades - Nail Yakupov good again, but Edmonton Oilers beat by superior Detroit team

Share Adjust Comment Print

Red Wings 5, Oilers 2

The game was a lot closer than the score makes it appear, as the Red Wings padded their goal totals with two empty-netters. The Oilers played reasonably well and were in the game until the bitter end, but were marginally outplayed by a better team.

Full grades follow.

Player Grades


Forward Line No. 1

#67 Benoit Pouliot, 5. Had his pocket picked in the neutral zone by Pavel Datsyuk… dropped Justin Abdelkader with an open-ice check as the Red Wings’ forward tried to get past him with the puck… delivered a nasty cross-check to Datsyuk which went undetected and then dropped the pivot with a hard hit… had a good power play opportunity off a great pass by Roy… he was solid, with four hits and two takeaways on a night where he didn’t do much offensively but added an important two-way element to the team.

#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 5. Made a good clear shorthanded… picked the puck up in the defensive zone, led the rush himself and then fired a tricky shot that almost beat Jimmy Howard… put another sneaky shot on net which was blockered away… drew a tripping minor… stole the puck in the offensive zone and then setup Yakupov who couldn’t pull the trigger… he had three shots on the night, with two of them particularly challenging. Held off the scoresheet but played reasonably well anyway.

#14 Jordan Eberle, 5. Got back to the puck defensively to bail out Schultz… beat his man to the puck and made a good pass… his stick broke on a shot from a dangerous area… picked up the second assist on Yakupov’s third-period marker… didn’t do much offensively, though he did make an honest effort to get to pucks first (something which led to his assist).

Forward Line No. 2

#16 Teddy Purcell, 5. Coasted after hearing “icing” shouted out on the ice, only to have no whistle blow and a Red Wings shoot past him up the boards… had a good chance off a Yakupov pass which was stopped… stopped on a shot from a mediocre angle… drew a penalty with an aggressive play at the Oilers’ blue line… when after Luke Glendening once Glendening dropped Roy… provided a screen on the Oilers’ second goal… didn’t generate much but wasn’t bad either.

#8 Derek Roy, 4. Got back to the corner of his own end defensively and advanced the puck out of danger… stripped the puck from Henrik Zetterberg in the Oilers’ zone and started a rush up ice… fumbled the puck in the corner, resulting in a defensive zone turnover… snuck the puck out between two Red Wings checkers… turned the puck over in the defensive zone with a bad pass… took two shots behind the Detroit net and drew a penalty on the second… involved in the defensive zone, where most of his best and worst moments came. Won just four of 16 draws on the night and couldn’t get much going offensively.

#10 Nail Yakupov, 7. Fired a hard point shot which was stopped… had a shot blocked by Henrik Zertterberg… got in on the forecheck and created a turnover… gained the zone on the power play, creating a decent Fraser chance… cut to the net with the puck and had a dangerous chance which was stopped… cut to the net and put a shot on from point blank range… stole the puck from Erik Cole but then couldn’t connect on a centering pass… was stopped off a hard point shot… stopped on a snap shot… when after Luke Glendening once Glendening dropped Roy… hammered a point shot past Jimmy Howard… last man back and couldn’t stop the pass on Detroit’s 4-2 empty-net goal… led the team with six shots and a goal.

Forward Line No. 3

#48 Ryan Hamilton, 4. Took a minor penalty for roughing against Danny DeKeyser… made a nice play at the blue line to keep the Oilers on-side… engaged Kyle Quincey after the Detroit defenceman shoved Fraser… didn’t do much.

#51 Anton Lander, 4. Pushed Gustav Nyquist to the outside and then pinned him along the boards in the defensive zone… won two battles for loose pucks in the span of 15 seconds in the neutral zone… made a good play to skate the puck into a dangerous area but couldn’t complete a pass… split the defence and got a really solid chance out of it… picked off a Detroit outlet attempt while covering for a pinching Schultz… turned the puck over in the neutral zone on the Red Wings’ 3-1 goal… provided a screen on the Oilers’ second goal… had good moments and bad moments, but went just one-for-six in the faceoff circle and was dinged for two giveaways, one of them critical.

#28 Matt Fraser, 4. Had a good scoring chance from the slot off a Schultz pass… had another nice chance in the slot off a power play zone entry by Yakupov… took a tripping minor; Detroit scored its 1-1 goal on the ensuing power play… took a bad angle shot… couldn’t control the puck right in front of the Oilers’ net on the Red Wings’ 3-1 goal… he had six shots and six hits, but couldn’t finish and made a significant mistake on one goal and was in the box for another.

Forward Line No. 4

#23 Matt Hendricks, 5. Fired a bad angle shot which didn’t get through but created a loose puck that Klinkhammer put away… flitted dangerously around the opposition net before putting the puck off the base of the post… landed a hard hit on the forecheck… made a bank pass to himself on a shorthanded rush before putting the puck wide… finished a heavy hit… honest physical presence throughout.

#27 Boyd Gordon, 6. Put a good shot on net from the slot off a rebound… earned a second assist with a win on a rare offensive zone faceoff… dropped down to block a shot… won a prolonged battle for the puck in the corner… turned the puck over in the offensive zone, creating a three-on-two the other way…  the only Oiler to win more faceoffs than he lost.

#12 Rob Klinkhammer, 6. Picked up a loose puck in the high slot and put a dangerous shot at net… fought to the net past Jonathan Ericsson and stuffed a loose puck past Jimmy Howard to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead… finished a check on Marek Zidlicky, drawing a high-sticking call in the process… stopped on a wraparound attempt… slapped a loose puck in the neutral zone into the Detroit end but did it from just the wrong side of centre… dropped Henrik Zetterberg in the slot and got dinged for interference… threw a long shot at net which was stopped… tonight’s goal was his first point in 12 games and his first goal in four months.

Defence Pairing No. 1

#84 Oscar Klefbom, 5. Blocked a shot on the power play and then cleared the puck… fired a long shot into traffic… handled Henrik Zetterberg cleanly in a one-on-one battle… turned the puck over in the defensive zone but Teemu Pulkkinen rifled it wide… created a rebound with a hard shot but the Red Wings cleared it… created a rebound with another long shot… got caught cheating by Tomas Tatar, who got a breakaway… handled Zetterberg once again in a one-on-one battle… beat to the net by Pavel Datsyuk, who redirected a puck just wide… exposed at times, but competent overall.

#19 Justin Schultz, 6. Gained the offensive zone and found Fraser in the slot with a good pass… jumped into the play offensively despite being the last man back; a moment later he was racing back to try and catch up to Justin Abdelkader, who had a breakaway as a result… earned the primary assist on Yakupov’s third-period marker… he cheated a little for offence but provided the Oilers with a threat from the blue line.

Defence Pairing No. 2

#85 Martin Marincin, 6. Boxed out Henrik Zetterberg defensively… had his clearing attempt shorthanded blocked by the referee… picked off a pass attempt on a Detroit two-on-one… used his long reach for a poke check which simultaneously held the blue line and started an Edmonton rush… walked the puck out of danger under considerable pressure… had a clearing attempt on the penalty kill picked off by Marek Zidlicky… intercepted a pass in the Oilers’ end and then cleared the zone… picked off a potentially lethal pass to Justin Abdelkader on the penalty kill… finished second among Oilers defencemen in total ice time and deservedly so after a solid outing. Edmonton out-shot Detroit 7-2 at evens with Marincin on the ice and he was the team’s steadiest defensive defenceman.

#5 Mark Fayne, 5. Made a good, simple outlet pass… used as a screen by Niklas Kronwall on Detroit’s 1-1 power play goal… surrendered the blue line to Gustav Nyquist but then boxed him out and relieved him of the puck… stood Erik Cole up and then knocked the puck away one-on-one… played a decent game.

Defence Pairing No. 3

#82 Jordan Oesterle, 1. Took Riley Sheahan on in the corner, only to have Sheahan spin and walk out to the front of the net… couldn’t close the gap with Henrik Zetterberg quickly enough; the Red Wings star rang a shot off the cross bar… good long outlet pass… skated the puck out of danger before handing it off to Ference… couldn’t handle Tomas Tatar one-on-one, surrendering a good scoring chance… lost a one-on-one battle with Sheahan for a loose puck… came around the wrong side of the net a moment later on Detroit’s 2-1 goal… couldn’t hold the offensive blue line… took out Schultz at the Oilers’ blue line on the Wings’ empty-net 4-2 goal… clearly in over his head.

#21 Andrew Ference, 3. Blasted a hard shot from a bad angle… stood up Gustav Nyquist at the Oilers’ blue line… beat one-on-one by Justin Abdelkader, who got a backhand from close range off the play… fired a long shot through traffic on net… got in a lane and blocked a Tomas Tatar shot… bobbled the puck at the offensive blue line and ultimately couldn’t hold it… lost a one-on-one battle for a loose puck on the Red Wings’ 2-1 goal… turned the puck over to Henrik Zetterberg with a bad defensive zone pass… whiffed on a pass and then turned the puck over to Abdelkader in the defensive zone… failed to stabilize a lousy pairing.


#30 Ben Scrivens, 4. He was screened a bit on the first goal, which was the iffiest of the night… no chance whatsoever on the second goal… third goal was a shot with time and space from point blank range… the 0.875 save percentage doesn’t look good but realistically this one wasn’t on him.

Recently at the Cult of Hockey

Willis: The Oilers need to be patient with Oscar Klefbom

McCurdy: Oilers surrender seven goals in embarrassingly inept defensive display

Willis: Should Oilers consider one of Carolina’s goalies next season?

McCurdy: Petry trade closes the book on the Prendergast drafting era

McCurdy: Player grades – Oilers hold their own but fall in the shootout to Chicago

Staples: If the Oilers are discounting Marincin they are making a mistake


Follow Jonathan Willis on Twitter!

This Week's Flyers

