With Taylor Swift and Connor McDavid visiting at the same time, Toronto finally got its wish — it really was the centre of the universe for a night.
But Saturday at Scotiabank Arena was more like a black hole for the Edmonton Oilers, who collapsed on themselves in an implosion so spectacular you could feel the shock waves all the way back in Alberta.
After blowing late leads in three of their last four games, the Oilers made it four-for-five, giving up goals at 13:08 and 14:07 of the final period to watch a 2-1 lead deteriorate into a 3-2 deficit.
Then, after Leon Draisaitl salvaged a point by scoring with Stuart Skinner on the bench for an extra attacker, Toronto sealed a 4-3 decision on the first shift of overtime.
Mitch Marner scored the winner, shooting on a two-on-one and taking full advantage of Skinner being far too deep in his net.
The Oilers have given up 18 goals this season in the last 10 minutes of regulation, tied for most in the NHL.
“We were doing really well defending it for the first 10 minutes (of the third period, when the shots were 2-1 Edmonton), then a couple of mistakes,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch.
“They weren’t even scoring chances that they generated, it was mistakes on our behalf. Those two plays are just unfortunate.”
BOUCHARD’S NIGHTMARE
It was just a miserable night for the Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard. He had seven point shots blocked, missed the net on two others and looked terrible on both of Toronto’s third-period goals.
First, with six minutes and change left in a 2-1 game on the road, he tried to force a pass up the middle of his own zone instead of going up the boards and a couple of seconds later it was all tied up.
Then, on the very next shift, he let a puck get by him at the offensive blue line, coasted on the back check and it was 3-2 Leafs. Two goals in 59 seconds and they were both on him.
UGLY HIT LEVELS NURSE
The game took an ugly turn midway through the second period when Leafs winger Ryan Reaves knocked Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse from the game with a vicious, dangerous cheap shot.
Nurse was left dazed and bleeding, flat on his back on the ice, after Reaves delivered a head shot on a blindside hit. Nurse left the game as part of the NHL’s concussion protocol and did not return.
“You never want to see that, you never want to see bad hits to the head, so it was tough,” said Oilers forward Adam Henrique. “He means a lot to this team, so hopefully he’s OK.”
This is going to be a guaranteed suspension (even an NHL Player Safety Department that doesn’t seem to care much about player safety can’t ignore this one) but it won’t do the Oilers any good since they don’t play Toronto again until February.
“I think it’s a dangerous play, you have to know that Nurse doesn’t see him coming and choose the right path,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “He doesn’t. It’s tough to see one of your teammates on the ice like that.”
POWER-PLAY LETDOWN
Reaves received a match penalty and a game misconduct and you know the Oilers, with a 2-1 lead at the time, wanted to make him pay by winning the game right then and there. But, alas, the five-minute power play didn’t yield a single goal, just two shots.
The power play (4-for-22 over the previous nine games) did strike for Edmonton in the second period, with McDavid scoring on a rebound for his seventh goal of the season and 1,002nd career point.
BIG LOSS
Nurse was off to solid start this year and was coming off a three-point night, so if this turns into a lengthy absence it’s going to be a serious blow to the blue line. The Oilers started the game with 11 forwards and seven defencemen due to Viktor Arvidsson’s injury, so they were covered on that front, but losing Nurse isn’t something they are deep enough to shrug off for any length of time.
SOLID NIGHT FOR THE PK
The penalty kill went two-for-two in the first period against the Leafs power play. And they held the fort again in the second period when they it was a two-man for 57 seconds with McDavid and Ekholm in the box.
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