Toronto Maple Leafs Defeat Oilers – Matthews on Injured List

The Maple Leafs knew heading into Saturday nights game against the Oilers it would be an uphill battle without Auston Matthews. What they didn’t know was the outcome, and as the buzzer rang at the end of the third, it was the Edmonton Oilers left wondering what went wrong.

The Oilers have been on fire of late, racking up eight victories in their last ten games, including up back-to-back victories against the Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets. However, it seemed they could do little to stop the hard charging Maple Leafs.

With just over 15 minutes remaining in the first period, Toronto’s William Nylander scored the game’s first goal during a power play. Adding to the nights scoring was one each by Mitch Marner, Zack Hyman and Jason Spezza. Earning assists for the Leafs was Mitch Marner, T.J. Brodie, Pierre Engvall, Jake Muzzin, Joe Thornton, Jimmy Vesey and John Tavares with two.

Being without Matthews was only part of the problem the Leafs were facing on Saturday. Matthews remains sidelined with an ankle injury, and to make matters worse, Frederik Andersen remains on the injured list and is day to day.

However, the Leafs were on fire and took advantage of multiple plays to dominate the Edmonton Oilers, adding the superior goaltending of Jack Campbell, and the Oilers were shut down. Campbell was on point all night long, stopping 30 shot and was rewarded with a shutout for his efforts.

Sportsnet

Saturday nights game was the first of a three game series, and if Toronto plays the other two like they did the first, the Oilers will be left to evaluate what went wrong. While Toronto scored the opening goal on a powerplay, the others were at full strength, frustrating the Oilers. Toronto Maple Leaf head coach Sheldon Keefe during post-game interviews that “Everything really came up Leafs here tonight.” Keefe, who acknowledged the absence of Matthews was on the mind of the team added,

“When you lose a guy like that, you’re essentially taking a goal away from your lineup. If you score one less, you’ve got to make sure you give up one less. Whether Auston was in or out, to beat an Edmonton team that’s rolling the way that they are and playing as confidently as they are, we had to really play a sound team game.”

Saturday nights game was the first time Campbell has played since late January after suffering an injury to his leg. It was also his first shutout since March 2019, when the backup goalie was playing for the L.A. Kings. The Toronto Maple Leafs will finish out their three game series against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday and Wednesday before welcoming the Vancouver Canucks for a two game series on the 4th and 6th of March. The next two games will be key for Toronto to improve their stats, and for punters, the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the generous sign up offers being offers by Canadian friendly sportsbooks.

Edmonton’s Mike Smith stopped 25 of 29 shots on net and, with it, watched the Oilers register their first loss in the last five games. Commenting, Smith said,

“We just didn’t deserve to win, they just outbattled us.”

While Matthews hasn’t been scoring like he had last season, he is a major part of the dynamo and still sits in fourth amongst the league’s top scorers this season. Matthews loss was felt by his teammates, with Mitch Marner stating,

“Auston’s a big part of our team offensively (and) defensively. Everyone steps up in that moment.”

The same sediment was felt by Campbell, who stated that he was proud of the talent the team displayed last night, adding,

“Losing Auston is a huge blow, but it was a great opportunity for all of us to come together and just try and take two points from a really, really good team. Auston was fired up in the room after.”

The good news for Toronto was the return of Joe Thornton and Jake Muzzin, and both were contributors in last nights victory. With Matthews still out, Keefe opted to put Tavares in as Matthews replacement, and it was a wise choice as the top line produced five points.

Edmonton has multiple scorning opportunities early into the game last night but failed to capitalize on those opportunities. Unfortunately for Edmonton, things went from bad to worse after the Leafs took an early lead and never gave it up. After Nylander scored the first, Marner took just over a minute to make it 2-0, mid-way through the second, they Leafs extended their lead to 3 and 0 and later in the third, Hyman made it 4-0.

Since joining the Maple Leafs last season, Jack Campbell has been impressing John Tavares. When questioned on his performance on Saturday night, Tavares stated,

“He’s been absolutely tremendous, not just with the results that he brings and the confidence that he gives the group, but the attitude, the energy he brings every day. The work ethic in practice is second to none. It’s just infectious, what he brings to our team. There’s a lot of things not seen behind the scenes that he brings to our group. Thrilled for him, and not surprised.”