Player grades: Oilers lose to the Sabres indifferently, leaving a point on the table.

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Buffalo, New York, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, defenseman Owen Power (25), of the Buffalo Sabres, is taken down by defenseman Mattias Ekholm (14) of the Edmonton Oilers. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/JEFFREY T. BARNES PHOTO

The Edmonton Oilers had a great start in Buffalo on Saturday morning after putting the trade deadline distractions behind them and having their roster set, but they soon lost their offensive spark and their defensive composure. In the end, the team let up its early 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout.

content of the article
To be fair, the Oil’s recent travel schedule hasn’t been easy. They have played five games in five different cities over the course of 168 hours, with start times ranging from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. to 5 p.m. to 11 a.m. MST. Pittsburgh will host its sixth game in nine days tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. MDT. As readers are aware, the overnight

The team appears to have lost its rhythm during this process as they have played two poor games in a row against Eastern Conference underdogs. Given that the Sabres fired four shots off the ironworks behind Stu Skinner and missed the mark on several excellent looks, Edmonton was lucky to draw even on Saturday. The game-winning play by Owen Power with two seconds remaining in overtime was disregarded for a tiny offside 20 seconds earlier, giving the Oilers a huge break even more. However, the execution was only suspended for a short while before the hosts won a shootout, 2 goals to 1.

Buffalo was outshot 32–27 by the Oil, but the Sabres had a 14–11 edge in Grade A Shots, including a 4-0 advantage.3-0 in overtime (running count) and a 3-0 lead in the third quarter. The Oilers, meanwhile, prevailed 39–10 (80%) in the faceoff contest, but with 14 hits against 40, they were clearly second best in terms of physicality.

Second, Evan Bouchard, 4. Neither his best overtime nor his best hour, really. struggled defensively and didn’t produce much, especially in the last few minutes. managed a team-high four shots, all of which came from a distance. His specialty, the powerplay, had a difficult afternoon; the only scoring opportunity he had was when Dylan Cozens walked him during a shorthanded one-on-one. played 23:55, a team record. Supporters of Grade A Shots (GAS): Special Teams +0/-1; Even Strength +1/-4.Cody Ceci, #4, is #5. some battles won, some lost. 3 blocks, 3 shots on goal. GAS: 0; ES +1/-3.

Mattias Janmark, #4, is almost invisible to the naked eye and to the stature. played for just under ten minutes without leaving any trace on either the Grade A Shots count or the Event Summary. zero hits, zero blocks, zero attempts, zero takeaways, etc. GAS: ST 0; ES +/-0.

#14 Ekholm Mattias, 4. He had a quiet game, too. Alex Tuch was beaten early on and then missed a wide-open shot. got burned on a pinch in the neutral zone, even though the Sabres spoiled the ensuing odd-man opportunity. GAS: ST0; ES +0/-1.

Zach Hyman, #18, was five when the puck slid past him.stick on a few potentially risky plays in close to the Sabres goal on a day when the Oilers’ offense was nonexistent. GAS: ST 0; ES +2/-1.

#19 Adam Henrique, age 5. performed best when he was not near the puck, especially on Perry’s net drive. He was a smart positionalist in his own domain, which was noteworthy today. One hit, one shot. GAS: 0; ES +1/-1.

#25 Nurse Darnell, 3. After winning the faceoff cleanly, he failed to make a routine clearance, which resulted in 55 seconds of pressure and Buffalo’s first goal. fired a hard shot during a 2-on-1 rush; it was a good move on a day when the Oilers had trouble passing the ball to an open man. Skinner was screened on the 2-2, a recurring problem this year. used a “good defensive stick” to put out a fire in overtime, but he also started another when he coughed up the puck in the final seconds, which the replay saved.

#27 Brett Kulak, 4, was called for hooking in the opening period, Edmonton’s lone penalty. On the next Buffalo powerplay, both teams scored. won a few puck races as usual, but he had trouble moving the puck crisply, just like the rest of the D-corps and the team. GAS: ST0; ES +0/-2.

#28: Low-event, Connor Brown, 5. made a small amount of work and defensively maintained a clean sheet. 2 shots, 1 key learning. GAS: +2/-0; ST 0.

#29 Leon Draisaitl, age 7. celebrated his 700th NHL game with two amazing backhand passes in the first 30 seconds of play. McLeod’s jammed the second pass home for Edmonton’s only 5v5 goal. delivered the lone risky powerplay attempt for the Oilers, just missing the net with an angled shot.tiny space between the post-crossbar junction and Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen’s mask. Leon’s 5v5 line with McLeod and Foegele was by far Edmonton’s best, as the Oilers had a 10-3 shot advantage during that period. Tage Thompson’s rocket over the crossbar let off the hook for a d-zone turnover. broke free during a 3-on-1 rush, but his pass to Bouchard was missed. A striking 17/20=85% exactly on the dot. shot that rang the post on its way in and briefly tied the shootout. ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0 for GAS.

THE FIFTH STORY OF THE AD is shown below.

#37 Foegele Warren, age 8. reacted with 1-1-2, +2 to his most recent promotion to 2RW. earned a secondary assist for the first goal scored by McLeod. completed the give-and-go-and-give-and-go that followed by first stopping the Buffalo zone entry and then breaking free with McLeod on a 2-on-0. This allowed him to score the 2-0 himself shorthanded. He outshot all Edmonton forwards with four shots on goal and six attempts. GAS: ST +1/-0, ES +3/-1.

#39 Sam Carrick, age 6. played nine dull minutes, getting one hit and one shot. made a forceful backcheck early to block a Buffalo thrust. won the ensuing faceoff despite icing the puck for no apparent reason. won every one of them—in fact, a perfect 8/8=100% on the dot earns a bonus grade. GAS: ES +/-0; ST0.

#71 Eight is Ryan McLeod. 8 seconds into the game, he narrowly missed a great opportunity, but he made no mistakes on a second great look shortly after. Considering how frequently his line has been third in the rotation and hasn’t even touched the ice in the first sixty seconds of play, it is shocking that he has scored in the first minute of play for the FOURTH time this season. made an outstanding pass for the 2-0 and broke loose with Foegele during the penalty kill. Other than that, excellent, with the Oilers sharing a 9–2 shot total in his 15 minutes at even strength. GAS: ST +1/-0, ES +2/-1.#73 Desharnais, Vincent, 4. He too struggled a great deal to make accurate passes, frequently getting too much air under the puck. Lost a battle on the broken play that resulted in a powerplay goal for the Sabres. won a titanic battle with Edmonton’s enormous Thompson in the net. The Oilers lead with three hits. ES +0/-3; ST +0/-1 for GAS.

#74 Stu Skinner, 5. Occasionally shaky, especially on the 2-2 goal when he mishandled the short side post and appeared to fall forward when Jacob Bryson’s low-key backhand shot swerved off his shoulder and in. To be fair, it’s unlikely that you noticed the release point via the nurse’s screen. saved on four separate occasions by his posts. returned with a bouncya few outstanding stops in the closing minutes and during overtime while his teammates were losing steam. only managed to stop one out of three shots during the shootout. 25 saves, 27 shots,.926.

#90 Corey Perry, age six. made a powerful move to the net and unleashed a powerful backhand shot that drew one of the greatest saves of the UPL. Had a few close calls with breaking the net. won a couple of fights on a day when his teammates suffered more losses than wins. GAS: 0; ST +1.

#91 Evander Kane, age 5. Had a few interactions with Perry and showed a bit too much selflessness by passing up a great opportunity to score in order to assist his friend at the far post. has now missed 10 games due to injury.objective: GAS: +1/-1; ST 0.

#93 Nugent-Hopkins Ryan, 4. Had a fantastic early opportunity, but Luukkonen stopped it, and the rebound went in off the post. Not his best defensive performance; he was involved in both of the Sabres goals. failed to score on the game’s final-minute shootout attempt. ES +2/-1; ST +0/-2 for GAS.