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Connor McDavid came to town, but Mitch Marner stole the show as the Maple Leafs came back from a goal down in the third, gave up the lead late in the third, and won it in overtime, moving the team to 5-1-0 without Auston Matthews this season.

Your game in 10:

1.   So much of the emphasis ahead of this matchup is naturally placed on avoiding feeding Edmonton’s transition/rush game (tops of the league in rush offense), not forcing the issue, and keeping the play in front of you if you’re the Leafs. Similar to the game against Ottawa, though, the Leafs gave up a few too many odd-man rushes early in the game.

Just 1:30 in, during an offensive-zone sequence for the Leafs‘ second line and second pairing, Connor Brown recovered a loose puck and was in full control of it on the right side of the Oilers’ defensive zone, as the other two Edmonton forwards — Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark — released the zone for a break the other way. Morgan Rielly‘s feet were still touching the blue line by the time Brown released the airmail over him. There was no reason for Rielly to linger high in the offensive zone as if there was a chance to hold the line or he had a teammate in position to win the puck back. He needed to read the situation properly and fall back, but he was caught up the ice instead.

It created a scramble back to the Leafs‘ zone where Jani Hakanpaa came across to close down Janmark on the wall, who got the pass through Hakanpaa to the front of the net, and Rielly couldn’t quite recover on Henrique, getting a piece of the pass across but not enough of it; it actually deflected straight onto Henrique’s stick blade for the 1-0 finish.

William Nylander rightly took some heat for his mismanagement of the puck at the offensive blue line leading to the early 1-0 Senators goal on Tuesday, but Rielly shared some of the blame for jumping up in a situation where there was little potential reward in doing so. He has to be a little more switched-on than this decision-making-wise early in games.

2.  Rielly wasn’t the only guilty party, though, as Jeff Skinner got in behind Chris Tanev for a 2-on-1 with Derek Ryan just a minute and change after the 1-0 goal (a great sprawling defensive play by Jake McCabe broke it up). Connor McDavid came flying off the bench not long afterward for a half-chance, as the game was played at an early pace the Leafs weren’t totally comfortable with against this Oilers team.

However, the Leafs tied the game just two minutes after conceding courtesy of Bobby McMann, who broke his long goal drought last game. As Anthony wrote in the last Game in 10 following McMann’s goal in Washington, they tend to come in bunches for him based on his short history in the league.

McMann gathered speed through the neutral zone, chipped a puck in, evaded a pick, and flew in as the first forechecker on the play. He was hard on his defenseman on the forecheck and was helped by good support from John Tavares arriving as F2. From there, Mitch Marner did what he does so well by anticipating where the play was going and forcing a turnover in a dangerous area (out of Connor McDavid down-low), creating a scramble at the net front where Tavares took a shot in tight before McMann scored on the second opportunity.

You could see the confidence of a couple of goals going straight to McMann’s legs in this game, as we’ll see more evidence of later on. Shortly after this goal, he made a between-the-legs move to drive wide on a defenseman and in on goal for a nice scoring chance.

3.  Five minutes in, the Leafs went to their first power play courtesy of a puck-over-glass penalty. The power play could not have looked better without scoring, zipping the puck around and directing plenty of pucks on or at the net. Marner looked supremely confident facilitating play high in the zone (working a bunch of one-touch passes to good effect), and Matthew Knies nearly scored on a back-post play. Rielly had multiple good looks, and Nylander couldn’t quite stuff in the puck from around the post with Skinner down and out.

The score was 1-1 and the shots were 9-6 less than 10 minutes into the game in what was a fast-paced and very fun start to a marquee HNIC matchup. After the early goal and chances against, the Leafs settled into the game quite well, owning 70% of the expected goals at five-on-five and threatening on their two power plays.

4.   A play that will be lost in the shuffle (but shouldn’t be) came with six and a half minutes left in the first period. Standing with the puck behind his net surveying the ice, Rielly was stripped by the last person you want to turn a puck over to in a hockey game. McDavid was about to round the net for what would’ve been a sure goal; Zach Hyman was all alone in front, fully ready to shoot the puck into the net. Anthony Stolarz made a brilliant poke-check on McDavid as he tried to walk out from behind the net to prevent a certain goal, keeping it at 1-1.

Stolarz also made a nice glove save on a 2v1 shorthanded rush for Connor Brown late in the period. It’s never easy for a goalie when an unstoppable rush goal flies past you just a minute and change into the game, but Stolarz shut the door the rest of the period and was excellent all game.

5.   The second period was all about special teams, starting with a 2-1 power-play goal by McDavid just a minute and a half into the period.

The goal itself was just an unfortunate bounce from the Leafs’ perspective, as a Leon Draisaitl one-timer hit Zach Hyman’s skate in front and ricocheted perfectly onto the stick of McDavid with an empty net in front of him.

This was one of those “just don’t take a sloppy stick penalty 200 feet from your own net (ever, but especially against this Oilers team)” goals more than anything else; Tavares was the guilty party in this case.

6.   Just a minute later, it appeared to go from bad to worse for the Maple Leafs when Ryan Reaves caught Darnell Nurse in the head as Nurse rounded the net. I genuinely think Reaves wasn’t targeting the head premeditatedly or maliciously; he actually swept at the puck first, he wasn’t really looking at or lining up Nurse’s head initially, and he kept his feet planted on the ice as he initiated the hit. But Reaves was definitely reckless and made direct shoulder-to-head contact with an ugly outcome (Nurse was down and bleeding after slamming his face into the ice, and he did not return to the game). There was little protest from the Leafs, and Reaves seemed remorseful — a sort of “I swear I didn’t mean to do that” reaction more than indignation after receiving the match penalty.

It was the first notable physical impact Reaves made on a game in some time, and it put his team down a man for five minutes and earned him a likely suspension. Reaves deserved to take a seat before this hit, so the probable upcoming suspension forces Berube’s hand on something overdue anyway. More importantly, hopefully, Nurse is okay.

7.  The major penalty was naturally going to be a big turning point in the game one way or another, and the Leafs’ PK stepped up. The Leafs rotated through Kampf-Marner, Knies-Holmberg, and Lorentz-Dewar, and almost all of those forwards disrupted a play or entry for a clearance at one point in the five-minute kill (multiple times for Marner), as the Leafs were coordinated in their pressures and won plenty of puck battles. It’s also nice having properly aligned lefty-righties on D playing their strong sides when protecting the net front (McCabe – Tanev, OEL-Hakanpaa/Timmins), blocking lanes, and clearing pucks, with a good amount of size/length among the group (which now includes Jani Hakanpaa, who made one block on the kill). Stolarz made just two saves on the five-minute penalty.

The Leafs went to two power plays of their own just past the halfway point of the period, which overlapped into a 57-second 5-on-3, and they could not cash in. They lost the draw to open both, which did not help, but the 5-on-3 was a little disappointing when they did set up. It only amounted to two Nylander one-timers, one of which was deflected into the netting and one of which came from the very top of the left circle (missed net followed by a clearance), as they were never able to collapse the three PKers with their puck movement and close in on the net for a prime chance. Back at 5-on-4, Nylander tried to split the D off the entry but was stripped in a forgettable power play for him overall.

8.   Down 2-1, the Leafs needed a push to start the third period, but it was largely Edmonton in control of the possession and zone time without generating much in the way of grade-A scoring opportunities. The Oilers were coming off of two games in which they coughed up third-period leads, and they set out to dictate the play while playing from in front, controlling 65% of the shot attempts and over 75% of the scoring chances at five-on-five. The Leafs were struggling to get the pucks and numbers in to even start a forecheck, icing it multiple times and sustaining little pressure. Berube tried to throw Nylander with Marner and Tavares for a shift in search of a spark, but nothing was doing.

The Leafs’ best (only?) real chance of the first 12-13 minutes of the period was a Connor Dewar solo dash through the middle off the rush for a look in tight. Dewar is a bit of an afterthought right now, playing around eight minutes a game through three games since returning from injury, but there were little flashes tonight of what he can offer with his speed, jam, and decent skill with the puck, both in his brief appearance on the PK and at 5v5. He needs time to settle in after a long layoff — and a better line to be a part of than one with Reaves and Lorentz — but I think he will be a part of the fourth-line solution at the end of the day.

On the one hand, I take Berube’s post-game point that the Leafs were patient in the third and did not force the issue to their own detriment, staying in the game by maintaining their defensive structure and with solid play from Stolarz. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the team is without Auston Matthews right now, and Max Domi is playing 2C while definitely less than 100% (David Kampf took multiple 5v5 shifts with Nylander tonight and finished just a few seconds behind Domi in 5v5 ice time). They were also up against a formidable opponent very capable of padding its lead.

On the other hand, this is generally not how third-period comebacks happen, as the Leafs needed a total gift (x2) to get them back in the game more than getting after it, sustaining pressure, tilting the ice, and generating chances. That said, the Leafs did a much better job of all of that in the third period in Washington.

The Leafs were dead last (32/32) in goals per 60 at five-on-five while trailing in games after the 3-0 loss to Ottawa earlier this week (just six goals in 255 minutes when trailing). They’ve now scored four five-on-five goals when trailing in the last two games, so you’ll take them however they come.

9.   Just as it looked like the Leafs were out of ideas and we were likely holding out hope for the 6-on-5 opportunity while still only one goal down, the first gift came courtesy of Evan Bouchard, who tossed a breakout pass off of McDavid’s pants and straight to Matthew Knies in front. Knies made no mistake with the finish for his eighth goal in 19 games.

Knies is now riding a 22.2% shooting percentage as he has been taking his chances around the net with aplomb. He basically scored the goal that started the comeback in Washington as well, as it all came thanks to his work (he hit the post and it trickled across the crease before Nylander tapped it in).

The second gift came after McDavid’s attempted pass below the Leafs’ goal line hit two sets of skates and bounced out of the zone past Bouchard, who completely let up on the play. Bobby McMann turned on the jets to beat Mattias Ekholm to collect the loose puck in alone. The finish was nice and composed from McMann, but Stuart Skinner played this goal as poorly as a goalie could play it; he was either caught in between on playing the puck or was anticipating a quick shot from McMann. Either way, Skinner looked silly when McMann simply deked around him and shot it in the empty net to take the 3-2 lead.

Coming into the season, there were many question marks about the Leafs’ left-wing position, but there was also the promise of internal growth opportunities. McMann was something of a revelation last season before his injury (15 goals), but he still possessed a very small body of work at the NHL level as a 28-year-old and ended up scratched for game one of this season (unwisely, but still). Knies was coming off a promising but relatively modest rookie season from a production POV. So far, McMann and Knies are both pacing for 20+ goals while bringing the size, speed, and net-front/forechecking power elements that fit the Berube mold to a T. Significant positive developments for the Leafs in the early going.

McMann played over 19 minutes tonight and Knies over 21; Knies tied a career-high and McMann set a new career-high in TOI, partially because the bottom six is dog’s breakfast at the moment but also because both are earning more and more trust from their head coach.

10.  The Leafs conceded their league-leading fifth goal at 5v6 with just 1:29 left in the game, but it actually all stemmed from a marathon own-zone shift with the game still at 5v5.

Holmberg, Domi, and McMann were on the ice with the McCabe-Tanev pairing defending for well over a minute straight; at one point, the Leafs appeared to be out of the woods, as Chris Tanev had full control of the puck above the circle in his own zone, but he whiffed on an attempted pass to Domi (intended for Domi to lug the puck out to center ice for a dump and change). Only Domi could change off the ice (for Tavares), as the other four Leafs were dog tired and right back to defending with the Oilers’ goalie now pulled.

The Leafs had a clear case for an interference penalty before the tying goal; when McDavid drove inside on Tavares and Tavares dropped his stick, McDavid swatted Tavares’ stick away toward the blue line. It was as flagrant as it gets, but it went uncalled, and Draisaitl banged in a loose puck after a mad scramble in front with Tavares out of the play.

There was some poetic justice in the 3v3 OT outcome, as McDavid was turned aside by Stolarz before a pass across to him was picked off by Marner defending a 2v1. Marner broke the other way, called his own number, and buried his 200th career goal to cap a dynamite performance from #16 over all situations (24 minutes TOI).

Marner is up to four goals and 10 points during Matthews’ six-game absence. There was a lot of disappointment we didn’t get to see Matthews vs. McDavid on HNIC in Toronto this season, but Marner made his own statement tonight as the best player on the ice, for my money.

Game Flow: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Heat Map: 5v5 Shot Attempts

Game Highlights with Joe Bowen & Jim Ralph

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