November 22, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers had revenge on their minds when they rolled into New Jersey to face the Devils on Monday night after the Devils’ 4-3 win at Rogers Place a couple weeks ago. Alas, the Devils continued their hot streak with their 13th straight win.

The 5-2 isn’t indicative of how close this game actually was. The Oilers actually outshot the Devils 30-28. I’m not saying that the Oilers deserved to win the game, but they certainly deserved a better fate than a 5-2 defeat. There was one awful giveaway that led to a goal against. Tomas Tatar batted a puck out of the air and into the net. You need to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good, isn’t that what they say? Meanwhile, Ryan McLeod had a sure goal blocked by the tip of Zach Hyman’s blade. That’s the kind of night it was for the Oilers.

Vitek Vanecek made several great stops, including a few on Connor McDavid and one on a Leon Draisaitl one-timer. That leads me to one of the big differences in this game…

Call Outs:

Stuart Skinner has been exceptional this season, but Monday night wasn’t his best night. He made a horrific stock handling gaffe that led directly to the 2-1 goal. The Oilers can’t serve up goals on silver platters and expect to win games, especially against teams as hot as the Devils. He couldn’t recover from that mistake by making an unexpected save on a great chance.

Cody Ceci, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Darnell Nurse absolutely bungled a three-on-three rush. Jack Hughes carried the puck through the neutral zone on the left side and cut towards the middle at the blue line. Puljujarvi was backchecking Hughes, who was skating right towards Ceci. Ceci and Puljujarvi both went to Hughes. Jesper Bratt cut to the space the Puljujarvi had just vacated on the left wing, and Hughes found him as he crossed the blue line.

All three Oilers defenders watched the puck go to Bratt. Puljujarvi skated back towards Bratt on his wing. Ceci turned and faced the net to track Hughes. Nurse, on the left side (right from New Jersey’s perspective), was covering the trailer (Damon Severson). Nurse stepped towards Bratt on the opposite side of the ice and dropped towards the net. Neither Ceci nor Nurse accounted for the most dangerous man on that play, which was Severson. Bratt dropped the puck back to Severson, and he made no mistake.

Hughes did great work to get Ceci and Puljujarvi to follow him into the middle. Bratt victimized the Oilers with a smart cut in the neutral zone for a second straight matchup, and he made a nice play to Severson. However, Ceci should’ve identified Bratt in the neutral zone and moved over to defend him once he got that pass from Hughes. Nurse should’ve identified Severson and stepped up on his rather than dropping towards the net.

Tyson Barrie lost the puck at his own blue line, and gave it away in the neutral zone. He tried to challenge it, but he couldn’t get to the puck before it was headed the other way. Yegor Sharangovich took it, cut to the middle on Brett Kulak, and absolutely sniped one that went past Skinner and back out of the net again in the blink of an eye.

Standouts:

Leon Draisaitl’s powerplay goal was a bit lucky. It deflected off Brendan Smith’s stick, but I’m sure Puljujarvi would’ve put it home if Smith hadn’t done it for him. Draisaitl could’ve had a prettier powerplay goal if not for a spectacular sliding pad save from Vanecek. He didn’t get credited for an assist, but he made a good play to start the sequence that led to the second Oilers goal. He took the puck from the corner and carried it to the half wall before passing it to Ceci at the point. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tapped in the rebound from Ceci’s shot.

Shout Outs:

Connor McDavid was dangerous all night long, particularly in the second period. He tried a move similar to Saturday’s sensational overtime winner, but this time he had a defender on his hip and was unable to lift it over the goalie’s shoulder. He also got a quality shot from the left wing off the rush. It was a frustrating night where he only managed to get an assist even though he had multiple scoring chances and dangerous looking rushes.

Jesse Puljujarvi got some powerplay time and was elevated to the second line in this game. He led the team in hits against Vegas on Saturday, and he played another physical game Monday. He bumped into Smith and sent him crashing into the end boards, which Smith wasn’t pleased about. Puljujarvi was in a good spot in front of the net on Draisaitl’s powerplay goal. He earned an assist on the Nugent-Hopkins goal by being a big presence in front of the net. Ceci’s shot hit Pulujarvi’s leg and bounced to Nugent-Hopkins. He can succeed on a line with Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl by keeping pucks alive and going to the net.

Klim Kostin’s play has been encouraging. He took a big hit, but then responded by absolutely laying a guy out on his next shift. He protected the puck in the offensive zone well. The points haven’t come for him yet, but he was even on the night, which is more than most of the Oilers could say for themselves.

Speaking of big hits, Markus Niemelainen laid a thunderous hit in the second period that made me think I was watching football rather than hockey. He tried for another one on the same shift, but narrowly missed the second time around. He was even on the night with two shots, two hits, and two blocked shots. This was a tidy effort from Niemelainen.

The Oilers continue their three-game New York road trip when they face the Islanders on Wednesday night.