MATHESON: Nugent-Hopkins was all over scoresheet for the Oilers

National Post

26-05-2025

The Edmonton Oilers may have held their breath after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins lost his when he smashed into the end boards with some help from Dallas Stars defenceman Lian Bichsel in the middle period Sunday, but he got his wits about him and, as usual, was all over the scoresheet in Game 3.
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His play will never take your breath away like Connor McDavid, who plays the game like his hair's on fire under his helmet, but Nugent-Hopkins was effective as well, efficient with three primary assists. RNH set up goals by Evan Bouchard and McDavid (those two in 36 seconds late in the first period) and he fed Zach Hyman for a long pass that Hyman put away on a breakaway early in the third period to make it 4-1.
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He was plus 3, he had four shots including one that Stars' goalie Jake Oettinger brilliantly saved with the shaft of his stick before Nugent-Hopkins lost his balance and cartwheeled into the wall after an interaction with the 6-foot-7 Bichsel.
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'Going in there quick obviously, lost my breath there for a bit but I was fine. I don't know if I clipped feet with their D man but we both went barrelling in. I thought I had a chance to score … would have been nicer if it had gone in (board trouble), but we stuck with it,' said Nugent-Hopkins.
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Again, he's never flashy, but he was all over the scoresheet, not as much as Hyman (two goals, plus 5, 10 hits) but RNH's three points gives him five over the last two games, and 16 in the NHL playoffs, seventh overall. He has 11 even-strength points, and is plus 9 in the 14 games, a security blanket in front of goaltender Stu Skinner.
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'For his whole career he's been able to be a two-way player, all three ends of the ice,' said Skinner, pausing to realize his gaffe, but maybe the neutral zone is part of his picture. 'He's such a huge part of our team and of our organization, with his work ethic every single day. And he does it a lot of composure.'
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Again, it was a quiet three points, like it is many nights on a team with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
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'I think we're all trying to do our thing, help when we can. Our line got a couple tonight (Bouchard and McDavid goals). Nice to capitalize when you get the chances,' said Nugent-Hopkins, whose assists all came 5-on-5.
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'I said last year that Nuge was my favourite player,' said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, who's able to play him on the PP, on the first PK forward unit, 5-on-5 with McDavid, or like in the third period when he was centering Evander Kane and Hyman.
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Tough to be more of a favourite than McDavid, who had two daggers to make it 2-zip in the first and one in the last 20 seconds of the second period to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead when they were being manhandled on the shot clock.
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Nugent-Hopkins set him up on a 3-on-1 jailbreak after Stars forward Jason Robertson was deep in the Oilers' end when he got caught up with Darnell Nurse. 'I probably got a little too low (to the net) and had to get the pass away pretty quickly … I think it was even rolling but he did a good job getting it away (under the bar). He put it in great spot,' said Nugent-Hopkins.