Player Ratings: Tyson Barrie and Stuart Skinner lead the Edmonton Oilers to victory over the Florida Panthers

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Tyson Barrie and Stuart Skinner came as big as bloody mountains for the Edmonton Oilers as the team clinched a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

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Skinner was hot at the net, Barrie heated things up with two shots on target and the Oilers played solid defense in the third period.

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The win means the Oilers have had a tough two-win-two-loss road trip. At the same time, Skinner is making a big effort to be the team’s #1 goalie for the foreseeable future.

Overall, the Oilers had 14 Class A shots, including 12 for Florida, with a subset of six 5-alert shots for Edmonton and eight for the opposition (running count).

Here are the game notes:

Connor McDavid, 7. The Oilers’ first sign of life came after nine minutes from McD, who shouldered a Florida defenseman off the puck and set up RNH for a slot backhander off the post. He then fired his own slot wrister at the power play on the net. He was dangerously stumbled into the gang by Gustav Forsling after a backhand shot. He made a fine rush to help kill a penalty early in the third. He and RNH combined some solid passes to set Puljujarvi up for a top shot in the third period.

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Ryan Nugent Hopkins, 7. Much more good than bad. He was slow to get to the shooter on an early Florida power play opportunity by Sam Reinhart that hit the bar. His own backhander just hit the post a moment later. Got into a vicious exchange with Marc Staal in the second round and then slammed two Grade A shots into the net. He got the empty net for Edmonton. He led the team with major contributions to seven Grade A recordings.

Jesse Puljujarvi, 4. Appeared to be out of sync. His turnover on the boards led to a 5-alarm shot from Florida late in the second. He was hit again on the pass to Florida’s second goal. But redeemed himself somewhat with a solid board game on RNH’s empty net.

Leon Draisaitl, 8. He made it big when the team needed him. Unleashed his dreaded Executioner’s Shot on a power play late in the first round, but Spencer Knight somehow stopped him. He came out fired for the second time and dangled the puck at the ozone zone blue line to set Kulak down but no goal. He made a fine backhand slot pass to set Foegele up for Edmonton’s insurance goal. He won 14 faceoffs and lost only nine.

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Zach Hyman, 7. The human flipper out there led all forwards with 24:08 ice time. Some solid work moving and protecting the puck as well as defending. His dubious penalty resulted in Florida’s power-play goal early in the third period, but with hard work pulled a crucial penalty moments later.

Dylan Holloway, 4. An early unforced turnover on his mistimed backhand pass resulted in a Florida Grade A shot. He and Foegele refrained from shooting two-for-one breaks in the first half of the game, with both passes being picked up.

Ryan McLeod, 7. Consistently good work. The third row scored the first goal of the game when McLeod hit Barrie’s point slapper. He set Kostin up for a break-in opportunity early in the third.

Klim Kostin, 7. Solid debut. He went to the net and helped shield the keeper on Barrie’s goal.

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Warren Foegele, 8. His strong play brought him to Draisaitl’s line in the second period. Great Hustle played the ice for a dangerous shot late in the first round and also drew a penalty. Another rush play to remove the puck late in the third, then smash a slit shot home late in the game for Edmonton’s third goal. Sensational game to win and drain which raised his grade by two full points.

Derek Ryan, 5. His good stick pulled out a key pass to kill a penalty in the third. Nothing bad to report and a little bit of good.

Devinufer, 4. Quiet game, with little ice age. He only played 7:06.

Matthew Janmark, 7. He started the Virtuous Cycle that led to Barrie’s goal with excellent puck protection from behind the net. He made a cross ice pass to set up Draisaitl for a good shot in the third.

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Darnell Nurse, 7th I kept it simple, had solid play in defense, blocking shots and hitting at bodies. He easily led Oil dmen 26:10.

Cody Ceci, 8. The best defenders of the oil. He blocked a nasty Brandon Montour slot shot early in the game, then blocked shots the whole time and ended up with five of them. His stretch pass also resulted in a Draisaitl Grade A in the third.

Brett Ear, 6. For dangerous shots, he allowed a few passes into the slot early on. Failed to hit an all-around attempt early in the second home. But his game picked up steam and he was part of a solid Oiler defense in the third game.

Eva Bouchard, 6. Between him and Kulak there were some dubious moments in defense at the beginning. He made some solid shots and passes throughout the game. He played 23:53, so the coach mainly used two top defense pairings with the same strength.

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Tyson Barrie, 7. Hammered in the first goal of the game with a fine point shot. His second goal was a smoke show from an explosion that knocked Knight off the post. But he was seared by the pass on Florida’s second goal, so subtract a grade point. He only played 13:33.

Markus Niemelainen, 4. Some early stumbling blocks in Class A shots against it. He was sometimes slow moving the puck and handling it too much. He was crossed in the back with no penalty, as it is obvious that NHL roleplayers are allowed this infraction, at least when their team is ahead. He only played 8:52.

Stuart Skinner, 9. Put in play a high-low pass and a harpoon shot in a minute and saved Oil from an early ball, then immediately thwarted Sam Bennett and Colin White from the slot. Huge slots saves against Tkachuk and Barkov were next from his magic case. At the end of the second period, Florida should have scored about three goals, but Skinner thwarted them all. He was beaten by a slot rebound and a snap from hell by Sam Bennett early in the third, but no Oiler was at fault, least of all Skinner.

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