The Toronto Maple Leafs were clearly the better team last night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were clearly the better team last night.
EDMONTON -- That was an ugly one.
Things looked like they might go the Edmonton Oilers way right off the bat. Within the first minute Connor McDavid was tripped by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies.
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And then the Maple Leafs killed that penalty.
Then Bobby McMann opened the scoring just over two minutes after that penalty expired. From then, it was all Maple Leafs for the majority of the game. They scored five unanswered goals before the Oilers decided to play a decent game of hockey.
They were simply out worked, out played and out scored. Ultimately, they lost 6-3.
Goaltending Made an Early Difference
Ilya Samsonov was a difference maker for the Maple Leafs. He stood tall in net, stopping all 21 shots he faced over the first two periods. He would finish the game stopping 31 of 34 shots he faced.
He was injured on the Oilers last goal - with Martin Jones coming in relief and stopping all five shots he faced after the fact.
The Maple Leafs had 23 shots in the first two periods, but scored five goals in that span. Stuart Skinner shut the door in the third period (the Maple Leafs sixth goal was an empty netter) but the Maple Leafs only had six shots in the final frame.
Too Little, Too Late
Hyman broke Samsonov's shutout bid with his power play goal five minutes into the third period. It is his 49th goal of the season - and would be the only goal he would score in the game. Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl would also score for the Oilers.
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They out-shot the Maple Leafs 18-6 in the final frame, but it simply wasn't enough. A 5-0 deficit isn't one that can be overcome every game.
Maple Leafs Played Better Defense
The Maple Leafs were a team that was committed to playing defense. The biggest standout for them being trade deadline acquisition Joel Edmundson. He protected the Maple Leafs net like his life depended on it. His play was instrumental in the Oilers not scoring on their opening power play of the game.
Everyone on the Maple Leafs pulled together to block 28 shots - which is one shot shy of how many times they fired the puck onto the Oilers net.
The Oilers have an opportunity to brush it off and move on tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Given how much they were embarrassed last night - I wouldn't want to be the team going up against them today.
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