The Leafs had no answer for Connor McDavid. The superstar scored two goals and added an assist, leading the Oilers to a 6-3 victory Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Fresh off their trade of beleaguered goaltender, Stuart Skinner, Edmonton debuted their newly acquired net-minder, Tristan Jarry, against Toronto. The former Penguin was solid between the pipes, but it was McDavid who inevitably made the difference.
The Oilers’ captain opened the scoring early in the first, blowing by Leafs’ defenders and tucking the puck behind Toronto goaltender Dennis Hildeby to make it 1-0.
The Leafs managed to get that one back. Easton Cowan scored his 4th of the season off a rebound of a Scott Laughton shot to tie the game 1-1 at 16:03 of the first.
Toronto took the lead in the second on an Oliver Ekman-Larson goal. The defenceman fired a puck from between the circles that beat Jarry to make it 2-1 nearly five minutes in.
Then a bit of misfortune struck. McDavid floated what appeared to be a harmless puck toward the crease, but in an attempt to clear it, Troy Stecher accidentally shot it into the back of his own net. McDavid got credit for his second goal.
With just over half a minute left in the period, Edmonton regained the lead. Darnell Nurse notched his 6th of the season off a one-timer from Leon Draisaitl on a rush started by McDavid.
The wheels came off early in the third. Vasily Podkolzin scored two goals 34 seconds apart to push the lead to 5-2. His first tally at the 1:21 mark was a tip-in off a Draisaitl shot. His second goal was a tap-in off a Draisaitl pass.
Former Maple Leaf Zach Hyman added his 6th of the season at 9:34. The Oilers’ 6th goal of the game ended Hildeby’s night as he was pulled for backup Artur Akhtyamov.
Steven Lorentz scored in the waning moments to make the final look more respectable, but the end result was a 6-3 loss.
Up next: Toronto faces off against the Blackhawks, Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.
