Maple Leafs vs. Oilers observations: Another blown lead. Another loss for Toronto

The start to this difficult stretch hasn’t been positive for the Toronto Maple Leafs. You can talk about processes and habits, but at the end of the day, they’re not getting results. How’s that for a cold open?

Tonight marks the fourth straight game that saw the Leafs blow a lead. The last three, including this one against the Edmonton Oilers, is the third time they’ve given up the go-ahead goal in the final five minutes of regulation. We harped on how frustrating it was to see them only get points in overtime, and now they can’t even make it there when the game is tied.

The Leafs were hot out of the gate with Auston Matthews being the sole goal scorer for the first 30 minutes of game time. Morgan Rielly doubled the lead in the second and it was almost spoiled by Zach Hyman who scored seconds later. The NHL’s Situation Room was on the job, thankfully, and the goal was called back for being offside. Leon Draisaitl put Edmonton on the board five minutes later with a sharp angle backhand shot. Derek Ryan tied the game for the Oilers two minutes into the third, while Ryan McLeod had the eventual game-winner with 4:05 left in regulation. Evan Bouchard’s clearing attempt became an empty-net goal securing the win and making the Leafs’ four-game losing streak official.

On to the observations.

Three Stars

1. Auston Matthews 

No. 34 didn’t waste any time scoring his 34th of the season. With the goal and a primary assist, he’s up to 50 points in 41 games.

2. Morgan Rielly

Rielly made the Pepsi commercial with Zach Hyman a reality, burying his seventh of the season with him on his tail.

3. Pontus Holmberg

The promotion to the top line is paying off for Holmberg. He finished the game with two secondary apples.

GO DEEPER

From Växjö to Toronto, Pontus Holmberg keeps getting better

Quick Shoutout

Simon Benoit

When one makes an error, one should correct oneself.

Another blender

Coach Sheldon Keefe took to his lines again after the initial mix-up against the Detroit Red Wings. Matthew Knies was up with John Tavares and William Nylander, Mitch Marner was back with Matthews, and Bobby McMann returned to the fourth line.

The 16-34 connection was activated 27 seconds into the game. Tavares looked quicker in the first half of the night, driving the net and digging for pucks in front of Stuart Skinner, and although Nylander had two looks himself, he still hasn’t reignited.

The Noah Gregor-David Kämpf-Bobby McMann trio had chaos around them. Either Connor McDavid was running around or they were driving the net and making Skinner’s life difficult.

Knies found himself in the middle of the bench in the second period after a tough shift that saw him slashed and cross-checked, but he was late getting back to the front of the net, deciding to pick up his stick while Evan Bouchard was open in the slot. Bouchard didn’t get the puck, but it seemed as if Keefe sent the message for what could’ve happened instead of what did. Knies stopping to pick his stick up was a factor in Mikko Rantanen’s 3-2 goal last Saturday. Knies spent the rest of the game on the third line with Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi after that.

Tyler Bertuzzi-Max Domi-Calle Järnkrok is an interesting line that may be worth sticking with. I liked how they gelled in the first, and Bertuzzi, who may be the unluckiest player in the league right now, almost made it 2-0 early.

More surviving than thriving 

As entertaining as the opening period was with the speed, skill and competitive crowd chants, the Leafs were lucky to come out of it up 1-0. The Oilers had the bulk of the shot attempts through the first two periods, even though they didn’t have their first shot of the game until the 15:27 mark. The momentum started pointing Edmonton’s way after their power-play opportunity and McDavid started getting more runs in the offensive zone while the Leafs made it difficult for themselves to get the puck out of their own end.

Martin Jones didn’t have to make nearly as many significant stops as Skinner, but Edmonton’s top two lines kept him busy. Jones stopped Evander Kane, McDavid, Hyman and James Hamblin who each had quality opportunities to score while Leon Draisaitl missed the net from his office. Of course, the same could be said for the Leafs to some extent. Bertuzzi and Nylander hit posts, the Kämpf line had at least three scrums in front of Skinner that could’ve had the puck cross the goal line and Skinner had a great stop on Holmberg’s one-timer.

Those heavy cycle shifts were seen in flashes, and the Leafs didn’t get any serious ones for themselves until Derek Ryan’s tying goal in the third. Edmonton kept coming with them and it tired the Leafs out. Ryan McLeod’s game-winning goal is evidence of that.

“These goals can’t happen”

The Oilers coaching staff may be saying the same thing about the goals they gave up. Bouchard left Matthews open on the first while Rielly had the time and space to activate from the point and score on the second.

Draisaitl’s goal leaves a bad taste in your mouth. McCabe is in front of Jones, and he leaves a hole short-side. Whether Draisaitl meant to do that or not is irrelevant, it went in, but it’s stomachable. Derek Ryan’s goal is the perfect storm of a defensive breakdown. Rielly leaves the front of the net to disrupt McLeod’s pass. TJ Brodie, Bertuzzi and Domi all advance toward Mattias Janmark, while Knies is on his own in the slot. There are three forwards on one side of the ice, with no one covering the two-shot options in Ryan or Cody Ceci. Easy pickings for the Oilers.

In a game like this, those goals can’t happen. Unfortunately for the Leafs, they keep happening.

Game Score

Final Grade: B-

If we’re still committed to holding players accountable for defensive mistakes, the next game should be interesting. Brodie, in particular, has not looked good, and he was beaten one too many times tonight. Some of the changes Keefe made are worth keeping, but the changes are happening too frequently. Knies seems to be going through it a bit, and he needs a spot where he can find it again. Bertuzzi needs to get a good bounce going his way. Tavares and Nylander need to step up. The team overall needs to get serious. How many times can the same thing happen? We can praise blowout wins against league bottom-feeders, but it doesn’t mean much when you keep losing this way to teams you expect to contend with.

What’s next for the Leafs?

The Leafs stay in Alberta but move on to Calgary to take on the Flames on Thursday (9:00 p.m. ET).

(Top photo: Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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