The Edmonton Oilers came back from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night at Rogers Place. It’s the Oilers eleventh straight win, extending their club record.
“It’s not easy coming from behind, especially against a good team like the Maple Leafs,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “We don’t get frustrated. We stick with the game plan.
“We don’t have to alter anything drastically or cheat on offence, we just have to work hard and make the little plays.”
“It was a great atmosphere,” Oilers forward Ryan McLeod said. “They obviously had a lot of fans in here too. I think it almost felt like a playoff game. It was really fun.”
The Maple Leafs pounced on the Oilers early with Mitch Marner sending a sharp pass to Auston Matthews, who deposited his 34th of the season just 27 seconds into the proceedings. The Oilers generated more chances as the period went on.
“I think it’s happened the last three or four games in a row where we let in the very first shot and then pretty well shut it down after that,” Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner said.
Oilers forward Zach Hyman worked in around Leafs defenceman T.J. Brodie only to have his forehand deke turned away by the left pad of Toronto goaltender Martin Jones.
Skinner also came up huge for the Oilers with an improbable save on a Pontus Holmberg one-timer.
Skinner made more big saves in the second before being beaten by Morgan Rielly halfway through the frame.
“He made some big stops at the right time,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. “He’s been great for a long time now. It was a really good game by him.”
Hyman lifted a sharp angle shot past Jones 12 seconds later, but the goal was negated after the Leafs successfully challenged for offside.
The Oilers would get one that counted with 4:19 left in the second. Draisaitl’s bad angle backhand slipped past Jones to make it a one-goal game.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to put ourselves back into (the playoff race),” Draisaitl said after the game.
Early in the third, McLeod found a wide open Derek Ryan in front. He deposited the tying goal for his 200th career point.
With 3:05 left, McLeod walked out from behind the net and flicked his eighth of the season past Jones.
“I was looking pass the whole way,” McLeod said. “I kind of drifted outside the (faceoff) dot and at the last second looked at the net and saw a lane, so I took it.”
“I thought he had a heck of a game,” Knoblauch said after the win. “At that time, McLeod was fresh when other guys weren’t and also he’d had a pretty good game so far. That ultimately led to my decision (to deploy McLeod with McDavid and Draisaitl).”
Bouchard added a length-of-the-ice empty-netter that just crawled over the goal line.
Skinner made 25 saves. Oilers captain Connor McDavid had an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games.
The Oilers (24-15-1) will host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 7 p.m.
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