Last night the Toronto Maple Leafs returned to action in an all-Canadian game against the Edmonton Oilers. They went into the match having collected points in their last six games and were looking to extend that tally to seven. Unfortunately that was not the case. The Oilers took over the game in the second period and eventually won 6-2.
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It was a terribly played game for the Maple Leafs, who essentially had no answer for the Oilers’ top stars while their own top players looked nearly invisible. They will now reset and focus on their next game on December 16 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Before that, though, it’s time to take a look at some insights from the game.
Maple Leafs couldn’t stop McDavid
It seems to be a common trend when Connor McDavid plays the Maple Leafs in Toronto that he looks superhuman. Last night he was on another level again. By now, there’s a good chance that almost every member of Leafs Nation has the video of him using his speed to get past the defense and score. That clip shows just how fast he is and, honestly, how bad the Maple Leafs defense looked throughout the game.
On his second goal, McDavid cut to the net with speed and as he threw the puck forward, Troy Stecher threw put it in its own net. A Maple Leafs defenseman shooting past Dennis Hildeby is about as unfortunate as it gets. It happens, and he immediately apologized, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time. That goal tied the game and completely changed the momentum. Then Edmonton took over and the rest was history.
Loss should not be the fault of the goalkeepers
If you didn’t watch the game last night, chances are you woke up this morning thinking the loss was entirely due to goaltending. That really wasn’t the case. Hildeby didn’t play that bad. Of course there are always one or two goals that a goalkeeper wants back, but that happens in almost every match. He kept the Maple Leafs in it early until the Oilers started to gain the upper hand, and there wasn’t much he could do once things unraveled. As for Artur Akhtyamov, when he came on to replace Hildeby, he stopped all five shots he faced. The goalkeeper change had more to do with giving Hildeby a break and getting Akhtyamov some game action than it did with blaming anyone else.
Related: Blaming Hildeby for Maple Leafs’ embarrassing loss is just wrong
From the second period onwards, the Maple Leafs team defense completely collapsed. They allowed Edmonton to get to the net far too easily and there was very little resistance once the Oilers established position in the crease. The last 40 minutes were played poorly across the board and that cost them. It was a big step backwards and the kind of game that can damage a goalkeeper’s confidence, especially one like Hildeby, who played so well.
Turnovers cost them the game
Last night there were four instances where the Maple Leafs blindly threw the puck into the middle of the ice or just made lazy plays that cost them a lot of money. The first came on Stecher’s goal, when he tipped the puck out of the zone and into his own net. Then there was another with 30 seconds left in the second period, when a blind pass into the slot from behind the Oilers’ net led to them being caught in an odd rush and the puck going into the back of their net.
After giving up that goal late in the second, many would have thought they would have come out pushing. But no, less than two minutes into the third period, the Maple Leafs gave up two goals, one of which came on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson turnover. That play ended with Vasily Podkolzin putting the puck past Hildeby for Edmonton’s fifth goal of the game. Then William Nylander and Matthew Knies added another turnover, which led to Zach Hyman scoring the sixth goal against his former side.
Related: Maple Leafs should explore a trade for Blackhawks’ Connor Murphy
Poor puck play led to four goals conceded before Steven Lorentz scored the third goal of the game. Those four goals made the difference. This is something the Maple Leafs need to clean up, and very quickly.
Next up for the Maple Leafs
As mentioned above, the Maple Leafs return to action on December 16 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The game honors longtime play-by-play commentator Joe Bowen as part of what is there called ‘Holy Mackinaw Night.” With a good chance of Connor Bedard being out of the lineup due to injury, this presents a strong opportunity for the Maple Leafs to bounce back from a tough loss.
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