Player grades: Leon Draisaitl shows his MVP stuff as Edmonton Oilers beat New York Islanders

Leon Draisaitl showed off his MVP from, scoring both Edmonton Oilers goals in a gritty 2-1 win over the New York Islanders.

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Draisaitl’s OT goal came on a great pass from goalie Calvin Pickard.

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The Grade As were 17 for Edmonton, 10 for New York, with the subset of 5-alarm shots five to three for Edmonton

Connor McDavid, 5. Not his best game. Super quiet until a second period power play where he set up Drai’s Executioner’s Shot. His turnover led to a jail break of a New York rush in the third but Anthony Dulcair missed the net on his backhander breakaway. Put the puck where it needed to go in OT, right on Draisaitl’s stick. Contributions/mistakes on Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength +2/-0; Special Teams +2/-0.

Zach Hyman, 4. Quiet at even strength. Took RNH’s pass and snapped a 5-alarm power play shot on net in the second. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +1/-0.

Adam Henrique, 4. Elevated to top line but didn’t get much done. He and Nurse lost a battle in the corner leading to a Grade A by Pierre Engvall. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1.

Connor Brown, 8. Strong chemistry with Drai , popped a puck to him for a nasty slot shot. Busted in smartly on the PK to get a breakaway chance in the first. Then set up Drai with a sharp pass for Edmonton’s first goal. Excellent backcheck to thwart Horvat’s deep slotter late in the third, then charged up ice to take Stecher’s pass and almost deflect in a goal. GAS: ES +5/-0; ST +1/-0.

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Leon Draisaitl, 9. Can you chant “MVP! MVP! MVP!”? Sensational game. He led the team with 11 major contributions to Grade A shots. Back-checked hard and popped a puck, leading to a great set up of Perry early on, then set up Walman for a wicked shot, then snapped two of his own off Connor Brown passes. He got called on a BS embellishment penalty late in the first.  Hammered in a Bobby Hull of a high slot slapshot for the game’s first goal. Threaded a pass to Stecher, who put it over to Brown for a near miss late in the game. He battled hard to win the puck deep early in OT then set up a wicked Bouchard slotter. He made no mistake on his OT breakaway. GAS: ES +9/-0; ST +2/-0

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Corey Perry, 7. Effective on the attack. Dangerous tip early in the game. Launched a harpoon in the first off Drai’s pass but no goal. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST +0/-0.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2. He’s a veteran but he made some costly rookie mistakes. He lost a board battle early on leading to — * sigh * — another 2-on-1 against the Oilers. He snapped a Grade A on the power play in the second. He turned over the puck on the boards in the o-zone, kicking off the Sequence of Pain on New York’s goal rush  early in the third; he needed to make the safe play there, dump the puck up the boards, but put it to the middle where Horvat picked it off. He also allowed in the pass for Cizikas’ dangerous OT shot. GAS: ES +2/-3; ST +2/-0.

Vasily Podzolzin, 6. Solid work. Pounced on RNH’s rebound on his first shift for the game’s first 5-alarm shot, then did so again later that period. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +0/-1.

Viktor Arvidsson, 6. Effective two-way game. His hustled helped create a Grade A in the first and drew a penalty in the second. He lashed a high slotter on net in the third.GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +0/-0.

Mattias Janmark, 5. One big play. He won a battle then made a niifty pass to send in Brown on a first period breakaway. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +1/-0.

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Jeff Skinner, 4. Too quiet.  GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0.

Kasperi Kapanen, 4. Another player not doing enough. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0.

Evan Bouchard, 7.  Excellent n-zone stop and pass to kick off the goal rush on Edmonton’s first score. He was caught up ice on Duclair’s third period breakaway. Great play to break up a 2-on-1 rush early in OT, then slammed a slotter that almost beat Sorokin. He led the team playing 25:20. GAS: ES +4/-2; ST +1/-0.

Jake Walman, 7. Looking good. Hammered a hard shot on net early on. Quick stick to pick off a slot seam pass late in the second. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0.

Darnell Nurse, 6. Held his own. Blasted Marc Gatcomb to the ice with a solid check.  GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +0/-1.

Troy Stecher, 3. Just one mistake on a Grade A at even strength but a huge one. He made a risky and ill-advised o-zone pass leading to a 2-on-1 late in the second. Passed to set up Brown late in the third but maybe should have shot that one. GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1.

Brett Kulak, 6. Quiet but effective. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one mistakes on a Grade A shot against. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0.

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Ty Emberson, 6. Rebounded from his worst game of the year against New Jersey. Dangerously deflected shot on net on his first shift. GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +0/-0.

Calvin Pickard, 8. He came up big stopping Cizikas on a 2-on-1 early on. Good stop through traffic on a DeAngelo slotter early in the second. Stopped Romanov’s Grade A on a second period 2-on-1. Failed to stop Horvat’s 2-on-1 shot early in the third. Thwarted Cizika again in OT. Great assist on Draisaitl’s winning goal.

“That’s all Picksy,” Draisaitl told Gene Principe of Sportsnet. “That’s great hockey sense. That’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t notice or appreciate. For him to have the guts to come out there and play that puck, that’s the only reason we scored here.”

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