Leafs run roughshod over Oilers, Mcdavid
Edmonton star a non-factor as Toronto overcomes another slow start for win
TORONTO 6, EDMONTON 2
Ken Hitchcock made a bold prediction during the lunch hour on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
Said a reporter to the Edmonton Oilers coach: “You’re old enough to remember the days Gretzky used to come into Maple Leaf Gardens and play the best game of the year and bury the Leafs on a Saturday night.”
Hitchcock, deadpan, didn’t wait for an actual question.
“Yeah, the same thing Mcdavid is going to do tonight,” Hitchcock said. “Same thing. I expect him to play well. He is pissed off and hopefully he stays that way from 7 to 9:30. He is not a happy guy right now.”
Oh, we don’t think Connor Mcdavid was much happier by the end of the day.
The Maple Leafs crushed the Oilers 6-2, snuffing out the idea that Mcdavid was going to be fired up in returning from a twogame suspension.
Mcdavid registered his first NHL point in Toronto in three career games with an assist on a first-period power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl, but otherwise was a non-factor on a bad Oilers club rife with non-factors.
That goal gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Toronto answered on a goal by Patrick Marleau before the end of the period, scored four in a span of seven minutes in the second and got another from John Tavares in the third.
The Leafs lost defenceman Travis Dermott, who appeared to suffer an arm injury when he was hit into the side boards by Brad Malone halfway through the third period.
Andreas Johnsson, who reportedly would rather wait until the end of the season to get into serious contract negotiations with the Leafs, led Toronto with a pair of goals.
Mitch Marner had three points, including a goal, and William Nylander also scored as the Leafs won their third game in a row. Auston Matthews had an assist.
Kasperi Kapanen left the game in the second period after crashing into the end boards, right-shoulder first, but returned.
Ryan Nugent-hopkins scored the Oilers’ second goal with less than four minutes to play.
Coach Mike Babcock probably didn’t like another slow start by his group — the Leafs were being outshot 13-2 by the Oilers in the first period — but it didn’t matter. Still, it’s on the coach and the players to get it right from the start, especially when they play teams that provide actual competition.
Of the Leafs’ four goals in the second, Marner’s was the prettiest. He drove toward the net and subtly re-directed a Zach Hyman pass behind Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen at 1:09.
The Leafs made short work of Koskinen, chasing him after scoring four goals on 16 shots. Anthony Stolarz came on in relief.
Marleau’s goal was his 549th in the NHL, tying him with Ron Francis for 28th in league history. In 27th is Johnny Bucyk, who scored 556 goals.
It’s on to Long Island now for the Leafs, who will visit the New York Islanders on Thursday for the first time since Tavares departed the Isles after nine seasons to sign with Toronto last summer.
“We are looking forward to going back there and I’m sure it will be an emotional day for him,” Morgan Rielly said. “As teammates, it’s our job to make sure we support him and most of all play well and hopefully get a win.”
GARDINER OUT
Don’t expect to see veteran defenceman Jake Gardiner in the lineup any time soon.
The Leafs announced via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon that Gardiner is “week to week with a back injury.”
That came after Babcock was elusive following the Leafs’ optional morning skate.
“Uh, did we make an announcement on Gards?” Babcock said, looking at a member of the Leafs’ public relations staff, who indicated “no.”
“OK, we didn’t make an announcement on Gards. Not playing today. I’ll let someone else make the announcement.”
Gardiner missed two games in January because of back spasms and though he did not miss following games, he did not participate in each of the Leafs’ past two practices.
With Gardiner out, Igor Ozhiganov, who was a healthy scratch for the previous 13 games, played and was paired with Dermott.
RESPECTING MCDAVID
The Leafs didn’t come right out and say it, but they know Mcdavid stands alone.
When asked whether he has improved his skating enough to close the gap on Mcdavid, Matthews, not exactly weak on his legs, had a one-word answer. “No,” Matthews said.
The highest standard, however, to which Matthews holds himself is what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
“I don’t know if I measure myself to other guys,” Matthews said. “I think I measure myself with myself and try to be the best player I can be. There are guys that are in the league like Connor, like Sid (Crosby), who are on their own level and I think guys look at that and want to be on their level. But for myself, I measure myself to my own standard.”
Connor Brown has had a firm idea since Mcdavid was 15, when the two were teammates with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, that Mcdavid would evolve into the dominating superstar he is now.
“You saw him on the ice playing against 20-year-olds and he was the best player on the ice (in junior),” Brown said. “Just his vision on the ice, type of plays he makes that no one else really makes, being able to see guys coming in late or speed up or slow down, so you understand that (early).
“He is a gifted player but he has done a lot off the ice to get stronger and faster. It’s not just an accident he is best in the world, (or) one of them.”
Just unfortunate Mcdavid is stuck in Edmonton.