Toronto was coming off one of its best performances of the season in a 4-1 win over Calgary Tuesday, and the Leafs looked equally strong to begin Thursday's tilt against Edmonton. After pressuring Oilers blueliner Darnell Nurse into a hooking penalty 54 seconds into the first period, Toronto's power play went to work, and centre Auston Matthews struck for his team-leading 13th goal of the year at 2:15 after a terrific primary assist from winger William Nylander. Three minutes and 40 seconds later, the Buds doubled their lead when centre Dominic Moore beat goalie Laurent Brossoit on the short side for his fourth goal of the season. The Oilers cut the Leafs' lead to 2-1 at the 12:37 mark of the first when forward Mark Letestu netted his fifth goal of the year, but 29 seconds after that goal, Toronto got their third of the night when the fourth line of Nylander, Moore and winger Matt Martin did damage again and Martin scored his second of the season.
After Oilers push back in second and tie the score, Nylander's late-period goal puts Buds back in front. The Leafs were reeling as the period drew to a close, but an ill-considered penalty by Oilers defenceman Eric Gryba with 1:38 left before the second intermission gave Toronto their second power play. And the same three Leafs who collaborated on the Buds' first powerplay goal did so again - only this time it was Nylander scoring his fifth of the season while Gardiner and Matthews picked up the assists.
Oilers D-man Kris Russell delivered a pinpoint pass to McDavid to register the first assist on McDavid's second-period goal, and Russell made a bigger imprint on the scoresheet at the 3:01 mark of the third, as his one-timer shot beat Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen for his second goal of the year and a 4-4 score.
Although the Leafs were outplayed for long stretches of the final two periods, it looked as if the game was headed for overtime - and then, misfortune struck Russell and benefitted the Leafs in one of the more unlikely plays in the league this year. Battling Toronto centre Nazem Kadri for the puck out in front of Brossoit, Russell spun around to face his own goalie, and his swatting attempt to clear the puck instead resulted in a shot that beat the Oilers netminder and put the Leafs ahead 5-4 with 65 seconds remaining in regulation. Leafs winger Patrick Marleau was credited for the goal (his 10th of the season), but Russell was the last person to touch the puck before it entered Edmonton's net. Russell and the Oilers were clearly in shock, and Kadri's empty-net goal with one second left in the third - his 13th of the year, moving him into a tie with Matthews for the team lead in scoring - was an afterthought to the game-winning play. Even the best players in the world can make big mistakes, and this one gave Toronto its second straight win and put them at 2-0 on their current three-game road swing and 17-9-1 overall this year. They now move on to face the Canucks Saturday in Vancouver before a few days off and a match against Calgary Wednesday at Air Canada Centre.
Kadri had always been a player that showed flashes of tremendous potential but just couldn’t get his game up to that next level. Some of this could be the result of having his development rushed to help bring some offense into a weak Leafs lineup or it could be that Mike Babcock was the first coach to get through to him. Not only did Kadri’s shooting percentage come back up to normal levels at 13.5 percent and result in a career high in goals with 32, but he also became the Leafs shutdown guy. Tasked with going up against the top players in the league every night and being expected to hold them off the score sheet, Kadri not only performed well – he thrived.
After Oilers push back in second and tie the score, Nylander's late-period goal puts Buds back in front. The Leafs were reeling as the period drew to a close, but an ill-considered penalty by Oilers defenceman Eric Gryba with 1:38 left before the second intermission gave Toronto their second power play. And the same three Leafs who collaborated on the Buds' first powerplay goal did so again - only this time it was Nylander scoring his fifth of the season while Gardiner and Matthews picked up the assists.
Oilers D-man Kris Russell delivered a pinpoint pass to McDavid to register the first assist on McDavid's second-period goal, and Russell made a bigger imprint on the scoresheet at the 3:01 mark of the third, as his one-timer shot beat Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen for his second goal of the year and a 4-4 score.
Although the Leafs were outplayed for long stretches of the final two periods, it looked as if the game was headed for overtime - and then, misfortune struck Russell and benefitted the Leafs in one of the more unlikely plays in the league this year. Battling Toronto centre Nazem Kadri for the puck out in front of Brossoit, Russell spun around to face his own goalie, and his swatting attempt to clear the puck instead resulted in a shot that beat the Oilers netminder and put the Leafs ahead 5-4 with 65 seconds remaining in regulation. Leafs winger Patrick Marleau was credited for the goal (his 10th of the season), but Russell was the last person to touch the puck before it entered Edmonton's net. Russell and the Oilers were clearly in shock, and Kadri's empty-net goal with one second left in the third - his 13th of the year, moving him into a tie with Matthews for the team lead in scoring - was an afterthought to the game-winning play. Even the best players in the world can make big mistakes, and this one gave Toronto its second straight win and put them at 2-0 on their current three-game road swing and 17-9-1 overall this year. They now move on to face the Canucks Saturday in Vancouver before a few days off and a match against Calgary Wednesday at Air Canada Centre.
Kadri had always been a player that showed flashes of tremendous potential but just couldn’t get his game up to that next level. Some of this could be the result of having his development rushed to help bring some offense into a weak Leafs lineup or it could be that Mike Babcock was the first coach to get through to him. Not only did Kadri’s shooting percentage come back up to normal levels at 13.5 percent and result in a career high in goals with 32, but he also became the Leafs shutdown guy. Tasked with going up against the top players in the league every night and being expected to hold them off the score sheet, Kadri not only performed well – he thrived.
