Player Ratings: Another Christmas miracle for the Edmonton Oilers in an OT win over San Jose

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For the second time in two games, the Edmonton Oilers scored a late goal to tie the game and then a goal in overtime to win it. Mattias Ekholm came through again, this time scoring the equalizer, with Leon Draisaitl scoring the winner.

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The Oilers dominated the game but made a lot of mistakes on both sides, which kept San Jose in the game, along with the brilliant goaltending of Yaroslav Askarov.

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The Grade A shots were 21 for Edmonton, six for San Jose, with the subset of 5-alarm shots 10 for the Oilers and four for the Sharks. With this quality, you would expect the Oilers to score at least five goals, but that’s not the case, not on Askarov.

Connor McDavid, 9. Stunning game. Three assists. He was on the ball all night and set up many great shots, but his teammates missed the goal. The maestro circled the puck in textbook style and then made a lightning-quick pass for Edmonton’s first goal. He progressed quickly and had a 5-alarm shot at the net late in the first period. Finally, one of his passes did the job as he passed it on to Corey Perry, who passed to Mattias Ekholm with 17 seconds left in regulation time to make it 2-2. A moment later he set up Drai’s winning goal. Contributions/Mistakes on Class A Shots (GAS): Uniform Strength +7/-0; Special teams 2/0

Zach Hyman, 7. He took advantage of the big opportunity early on and put it at the top of the shelf where Mom keeps the cookies. Moments later, he won a puck battle from deep and then shot into the slot for a Grade A. He failed to block a shot pass from McDavid on the Edmonton power play in the third period. A moment later, he missed the net on a wide-open shot from close range. GAS: ES +5/-0; ST 0/0

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Ryan Nugent Hopkins, 5. His shooting was a problem. He failed to sink a shot into a wide-open net early on, failed to put a rebound on the net later in the first period, and failed to fight through for a shot in a scramble at the front of the net to ward off. He was late for the backcheck and allowed a dangerous shot at the start of the second period. At the beginning of the third period he missed the ball again with a slot shot. GAS: ES +3/-1; ST 1/0

Leon Draisaitl, 8. Much more good than bad, but some bad too. He allowed the pass on San Jose’s second goal. His turnover at the blueline led to a 3-on-1 Sharks jailbreak. At the start of the second period he threw a Bouch bomb into the net. He won a puck battle and set up Podkolzin’s dangerous shot in the second period, part of a series of dangerous attacks on that line in the second period. He failed to cover Bouchard on Celebrini’s breakaway in the third period. At the start of the third period he failed to block a long shot and hit the post. With 90 seconds left, he missed a wide open goal. Hitting home the winner. GAS: ES +7/-1; ST 2/0

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Kasperi Kapanen, 7. He earns his living. In the second round he made a great spin move to place a Podkolzin harpoon and shot hard into the net a second later. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 0/0

Vasily Podkolzin, 7. Continues to make a big impression. He had a bad shot in the second round. A few shifts later, he fired a close one-timer, but Askarov overpowered him. On the same shift, he failed to stop a 5-alarm jam from Kapanen’s rebound. Had another hammer shot towards the end of the second period, then a great chance in the third period, but couldn’t score in either one. GAS: ES +5/-0; ST 0/0

Adam Henrique, 6. In the first round he stormed into the net and hit a hard backhandball. He jumped on a rebound for a Grade A PP shot in the second period, but was slow to cut a pass into the slot, leading to a 5-alarm shot from Kovalenko. He hit a backhand into the net late in the second round but couldn’t beat Askarov. GAS: ES +3/-2; ST 1/0

Corey Perry, 7. Some good work here. He failed to block the outside shot on San Jose’s second goal, but moments later he set up Arvidsson’s one-timer. Cool pass to set up Ekholm’s big goal. GAS: ES +3/-0; ST 1/0

Viktor Arvidsson, 7. Moved well, played well, that’s good to see considering he’s coming back from injury. In the first round he hit a harpoon into the net. He set up Henrique’s 5-alarm shot late in the second. He set up Drai deep in the third round. GAS: ES +4/-0; ST 0/0

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Jeff Skinner, 4. The third line was quiet, there was little to report, neither good nor bad, but that’s not good enough for a forward beat or a line. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 1/0

Mattias Janmark, 4. Ditto. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Connor Brown, 4. Same, same. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Evan Bouchard, 8. One or two mistakes, but so many great passes and plays. Swell’s stretch pass created a 5-alarm sequence early on and then was part of the Virtuous Cycle on Hyman’s early goal. He ended a 3-on-1 rush by rushing back and retrieving his stick-on puck. He gave the puck away deep in the O-zone, which led to Macklin Celebrini’s 5-alarm shot in the third period. He was part of the best of all Virtuous Cycles for Drai’s winning goal. GAS: ES +6/-2; ST 0/0

Mattias Ekholm, 8. Huge goal tonight. He won a board fight and launched a 5-alarm attack sequence near the end of the first round. He kept the puck in the SJ end until Drai hit the post in the third period. A moment later, he missed the net with a wide-open shot. For the second time in a row, he made no mistake in the decisive minute and fired Perry’s pass. GAS: ES +4/-3; ST 1/0

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Darnell Nurse, 6. It’s quieter here. Near the end of the second round, he knocked an outside shot off Askarov’s facemask. GAS: ES +0/-2; ST 0/0

Troy Stecher, 7. He won a battle and helped set up Henrique’s 5-alarm shot late in the second. He kept a clean sheet at even strength and didn’t make a big mistake on a Grade A shot. GAS: ES +1/-0; ST 0/0

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

Brett Kulak, 4th Rancid error on the first goal, he gave up his position, went over to help Bouchard in the corner, let him pass and passed out as Luke Kunin, the dangerous man, snuck into the slot to score the goal. But otherwise it was ok. GAS: ES +0/-0; ST 0/0

Calvin Pickard, 7. He hardly had a chance with the first goal, but had to stop the ball for the second SJ goal. At the start of the second round he got a good stoppage against William Eklund, then an even bigger stoppage against Nikolai Kovalenko. His biggest stop was Celebrini’s breakaway in the third round.

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