|
Leafs shutout Oilers, take both ends on back-to-back weekend |
|
|
|
|
|
For the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
The Toronto Maple Leafs swept weekend games against last season’s Hart Trophy winner and runner up, besting Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Saturday and shutting out Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 at Air Canada Centre on Sunday.
Zach Hyman scored just 34 seconds into the game and that was all the offense that goaltender Curtis McElhinney needed, as the Leafs backup made 41 stops for his third win of the season.
The Leafs played without leading scorer Auston Matthews, who suffered an unspecified upper body injury late in the third period on Saturday and did not take to the ice for the pre-game skate.
William Nylander took Matthews spot in between Connor Brown and Hyman and the revamped top line struck on their first shift, as Jake Gardiner’s point shot was deflected and trickled through the pads of Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit.
“I thought I (deflected the puck) because my stick felt like it broke.” Hyman said after the game. “I checked on the bench and it had a crack in it, so I switched it out but to me it doesn’t matter, it was just a big goal to start the game.”
Similar to the pattern they displayed in Pittsburgh, the Leafs dominated the opening 20 minutes and outshot the Oilers 11-6, but as the game evolved, they became more passive and attempted to limit the Edmonton offensive chances.
That philosophy allowed the Oilers to take over territorially and they outshot Toronto 35-12 in the second and third periods. McDavid was not hindered at all by being line matched against the checking line centered by Nazem Kadri and nearly tied the game on a pair of breakaways, but was stymied by McElhinney.
“200 feet away you can just kind of see (McDavid) sneaking around the far blueline, building up speed.” McElhinney said. “It's just one of those things where you're trying to match and stay with him and hopefully he doesn't deke you out of your pants.”
The Leafs goaltender was both lucky and good in his first shutout of the season. The Oilers hit the post on four occasions and squandered a golden opportunity late in the middle frame, when minors to Roman Polak and Mitch Marner gave Edmonton a full two-minute five-on-three power play.
Toronto improved to 20-10-1 on the season and 5-0-0 without Matthews in the lineup. The club faces a difficult task of three road games in four nights, starting with the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, but is not sure of their top center’s status.
“We're not trying to have (Matthews) out of the lineup, but it's nice (that) we can win without him.” Babcock said. “He's got an upper-body whatever and I think he'll be ready to go, but I'm not 100 percent sure, so we'll just go with the trainer’s (determination). We expected him here tonight, but it'll just be on how he feels.”
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»