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Edmonton was led by some unlikely forwards, Vasili Podkolzin, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, as well as the usual suspects, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as they hammered the New York Rangers 6-2 on Saturday night.

Podkolzin had the first goal of the game, while Brown and Janmark each had two assists.

The Class A shots in the game were 15 for Edmonton, ten for the Rangers, with the subset of 5-alarm shots seven to three for the Oilers.

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Connor McDavid, 8. Two goals and an assist. Came to life early in the second, fired a break-in pass to Draisaitl, then took Draisait’s pass and knocked it off the post on the ensuing power play. He then rushed in and passed from one knee to set up Drai’s goal, Edmonton’s third. He was in the right place to score Edmonton’s fifth goal. Contributions/errors on Class A shots (GAS): Even power +6/-2; Special teams 1/0

Kasperi Kapanen, 6. First Oiler point tonight. He went through town with the puck in the o-zone before handing it to Bouch after Edmonton’s fifth goal.
GAS: ES +1/-1; ST 0/0

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. That’s better! Good game, one of his first this year. He scored an early goal on a dump-in play, a solid sign, and then set up Ekholm for a hard outside-one-timer. He made a smooth pass to Brown for a one-timer in the second. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 1/0

Leon Draisaitl, 8. Goal and assist. He ripped a harpoon on net for Edmonton’s first Class A off a Podkolzin pass. He set up Podz’s goal with a hard rush and deft back pass. He broke into beast mode early in the second to take a McD pass, fire a hard shot and then stumble hard into the end boards. A few shifts later he broke into McD hard again, this time taking the pass and hammering him in. He was ripped off by Luke Gazdic during the broadcast due to poor body language, but that’s Leon the Great. He does his own thing. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST 1/0

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Connor Brown, 8. Put on the second line and probably had his best game of the year. He won a board battle in Edmonton’s first Class A of the game. He kicked off the Virtuous Cycle with Edmonton’s second goal, winning a board battle in his own zone. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 1/0

Vasili Podkolzin, 8. His hard work paid off big time tonight. Just missed a tip-in opportunity on a pass from Connor Brown in the first inning, setting up Drai’s one-timer. Edmonton did well with 18 shots in the first but wasn’t rewarded until the 19th, with Podkolzin tapping in a feed from Draisaitl for his first goal of the year. GAS: ES +2/-1; ST 0/0

Adam Henrique, 7. He made a Grade A shot late in the first on a Skinner-Nurse-Janmark combo passing play. He ran onto the ice to set up a short-handed tip from Janmark. Excellent back pass and Total Eclipse of the Sun screen on Bouchard’s snipe, Edmonton’s fourth goal. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 1/0

Jeff Skinner, 6. I did it. He made a nice pass and set up a Grade A shot late in the second. GAS: ES +2/-0; ST 0/0

Mattias Janmark, 8. This was play-off Janmark in this one, hungry and effective. Excellent play on the shortie from Nurse, rushes in to win the puck in the ozone zone and then goes through town with the puck before zipping a seam to Nurse. He nearly scored his own shortie on a hard-to-the-net and tip shot in the second period. He won the puck and then passed it to Bouchard for Edmonton’s fourth goal. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 2/0

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Dirk Ryan, 5. Quiet game GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Drake Caggiula 7. Major impact in limited ice age. He knocked Kaapo Kakko down with a big hit early, stopping an NYR rush. He blocked a key shot on a Rangers scramble play in the second. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Corey Perry, 4. Weak on the Rangers goal against. He lost a board battle and then left the shooter Panarin on NYR’s first goal.
GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0/0

Evan Bouchard, 7. Goal and an assist. High event, but much more good than bad. He didn’t take the pre-game skate and battled illness to play this game. He hit a hard shot on net late in the first that nearly tagged Ekholm, the first five-alarm shot of the game. he ripped a closing shot through Henrique’s screen for Edmonton’s fourth goal. Brilliant pass to McD on the side of the net for Edmonton’s fifth goal. GAS: ES +3/-3; ST 0/0

Mattias Ekholm6. Quiet game, but solid. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Darnell Nurse, 7. Great to see him back and playing well. He looked questionable in his first few shifts, shaky with the puck, which wasn’t surprising after coming back from such a ferocious hit. but made a solid keep-in. He smartly advanced to the o-zone and took his time to pick his spot on a short-handed closing shot late in the first for Edmonton’s second goal. He got tangled in the ice and let Zibanejad in for a Class A. His late turnover led to the second Rangers goal. GAS: ES +2/-2; ST 1/0

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Brett Kulak, 6. Solid and calm play, after a few leaky matches.
GAS: ES +0/-1; ST 0/0.

Ty Emberson, 6. Another solid game,
GAS: ES +1/-1; ST 0/0

Troy Stecher, 6. His winning battle kicked off the scoring streak after Edmonton’s six goals. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not a single major error on a Grade A shot at even strength. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0/0

Stuart Skinner, 7. Two bad moments, but plenty of good ones on a generally quiet night in net. He fought through heavy traffic to get in the first outside shots early and late. He faced his first Grade A shot six minutes into the second period and stopped it. Moments later, he turned the puck over, leading to a scramble and a Class A shot from Jonny Brodzinski, a hockey name if ever there was one. He muffed Panarin’s shot on New York’s first goal. But moments later he thwarted Chris Kreider with a 5-alarm shot at the side of the net. A mega save on Alexis Lafreniere early in the third. Beat garbage time on the second Rangers goal.

At the hockey cult

McCURDY: Oil companies are having a tough time on home ice. Why?

STAPLES: You don’t want to know how bad the Oilers goaltending has been

Staples about politics

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