Bobby McMann scored two goals and assisted on another, while Auston Matthews added his NHL-leading 58th goal into an empty net, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs secure a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
“It was a team effort,” McMann remarked. “Many guys contributed to that. We get opportunities, odd-man rushes, plays around the net because of the hard work from everyone around us.”
Pontus Holmberg also scored twice, William Nylander had a goal and an assist, and Matthews added an assist. Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves before leaving due to an injury with 3:39 left in the game. Martin Jones stepped in and stopped five shots in relief.
“Our players showed great determination,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe commented. “We played with a lot of attitude.”
Toronto has now won two consecutive games, improving their record to 40-20-9. On the other hand, Edmonton dropped to 42-22-4. The Oilers had a strong record of 9-1-2 over their previous 12 games.
Former Maple Leafs player Zach Hyman scored his 49th goal for Edmonton. Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, with Connor McDavid providing three assists. Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots in two periods, and Calvin Pickard made five stops in relief.
“It was a strange game,” Draisaitl remarked. “They capitalized on every single one of their chances, and we gave up a little too much in the first 40 minutes.”
After successfully killing off an early penalty, McMann opened the scoring at 4:17 of the first period. Nylander extended the lead to two with his 39th goal on a skillful power-play deflection with 1:46 left in the period.
Holmberg made it 3-0 at 8:02 of the second period after Matthews won a race for the puck and Max Domi set up the forward for an easy finish. The Swedish player added his second goal of the night 3:02 later on a three-on-one break. McMann increased the lead to 5-0 with 4:14 left in the period.
Hyman scored on a power play 4:59 into the third period, and Perry narrowed the gap to 5-2 with another power-play goal at 8:32. Draisaitl scored his 36th goal with 3:39 left, with Pickard on the bench for an extra attacker, following a sequence that saw Samsonov getting injured and leaving the game.
The Oilers continued to push for more goals, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hitting the post, but Toronto managed to hold on until Matthews sealed the victory.
The Leafs were without injured forwards Mitch Marner (high ankle sprain) and Calle Jarnkrok (hand), while winger Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin both missed the game due to an illness.
