Short-handed Leafs bounce back to sink Oilers

With injuries to Auston Matthews and Joe Thornton, Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was saying on Friday morning it was on the club as a whole to step up.

“Everyone has to find ways to elevate,” Tavares said. “you can’t replace anyone in the lineup. I think everyone brings their own skill set. We have to find another level and make as big as an impact as you can.”

To help get the point across to his teammates, Tavares scored the winning goal on Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, tipping a Mitch Marner shot on a power play with under nine minutes to play in a 4-2 Toronto victory against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Leafs didn’t have twothirds of their top line, as Matthews (upper body) and Thornton (rib) did not dress.

Matthews is day to day, while Thornton will be out at least one month.

The victory put the Leafs (4-2-0) in a good mood as they embark on a four-game swing through Alberta, where they play the Flames in Calgary on Sunday and Tuesday and the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday and Saturday.

After losing to the Oilers (2-4-0) on Wednesday in the opener of the two-game set, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe wanted more drive from his club in the offensive zone at 5-on-5. While Keefe got that in general, the Leafs scored two of their goals on the power play.

Frederik Andersen made 30 saves for the Leafs and improved to 13-1-1 against the Oilers in his career.

Other Leafs stepped up. Before Tavares scored at 11:46 of the third as devin Shore served a hooking minor, the Leafs got goals from Adam Brooks, in his season debut, and Jimmy Vesey. Marner scored into an empty net.

After using defenceman Mikko Lehtonen the past two games, Keefe went back to a split of 12 forwards and six defencemen, a move he said would have been made regardless of the injuries.

Keefe inserted Alexander Barabanov, Pierre Engvall and Brooks at forward and scratched Lehtonen.

New lines included Tavares between Zach Hyman and Marner, and Alex Kerfoot centring William Nylander and Vesey.

Connor Mcdavid tied the game early in the third, deflecting an Ethan Bear shot past Andersen at 50 seconds.

The Leafs carried a lead into the second intermission after erasing a 1-0 Edmonton edge.

Vesey, with his second of the season, buried a Nylander feed behind Koskinen at 11:16 of the second period.

There had been no goals until the five-minute mark of the second, and then both teams scored during the same Edmonton minor.

At 5:12, Leon draisaitl scored short-handed after some careless puckhandling by the Leafs deep in their own zone.

Some 43 seconds later, the Leafs tied the game.

Brooks got his first goal in the National Hockey League, in his eighth game, at 5:55 when a Jason Spezza pass banked off him and got behind Koskinen.

Matthews watched the game from a private box.

“I’m not too concerned,” Keefe said Friday morning, regarding the status of Matthews.

“There was a possibility he would play (Friday), but it wasn’t feeling right in that sense, so we’re going to give a little more time.”