McDavid’s four points help Oilers end Maple Leafs point streak at 10
via NHL.com
Connor McDavid scored and had three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers ended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ point streak at 10 with a 6-4 victory at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
“It definitely feels good. We’ve never had a win in this building since I’ve been a part of the Oilers so it’s definitely fun to get one,” said McDavid, who grew up in Newmarket, Ontario, about 45 minutes north of Toronto.
Leon Draisaitl and Alex Chiasson each scored and had an assist, and Mike Smith made 32 saves for the Oilers (23-17-5), who are 3-0-1 in their past four games.
“I don’t want to give up four, but sometimes circumstances [lead other ways],” Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. “We’re trying to give up less goals, so four, yeah, I’d rather not give up, but you have to respect the skill of the other team too.”
Pierre Engvall had a goal and an assist, and Auston Matthews scored for the fifth time in five games for the Maple Leafs (24-15-5), who are 9-1-1 in their past 11 games.
“We gave [McDavid]) way too much space,” Matthews said. “He’s the most dangerous player in the world for a reason, so when you just let him fly through the neutral zone with the speed and skill he has, he’s going to make us pay.”
Frederik Andersen allowed three goals on 19 shots before being replaced at 1:45 of the second by Michael Hutchinson, who made 13 saves on 16 shots.
Coach Sheldon Keefe said he pulled Andersen because he was not satisfied with the Maple Leafs’ defensive play in front of him.
“Before I [made the decision to pull] him, I told our team I’m not going to let Freddie play behind that, that’s not fair to him,” Keefe said. “To that point, it felt like he already had a full game worth of work. Obviously, we didn’t get their attention in the first intermission like we thought we would have or thought we did. It didn’t translate to the ice, so I had to do something such as that to get our team’s attention and to save Freddie from what was happening. I had no issue with anything he was doing in the net.”
They said it
“That’s the nicest goal I’ve ever seen. That’s just Connor, you could tell tonight he was playing with an edge. That might have been the nicest goal I’ve seen. Just pure skill. We’re lucky to have him. Honestly, Morgan Rielly is one of the top defensemen in the League, he’s a great player too that [McDavid] was going against. To go out and play a game like tonight in Toronto, his hometown, hats off to him.” — Oilers forward Alex Chiasson
“I saw we got into trouble if we don’t support each other. I think a lot of their goals, their skill showed a little too much. It’s a lesson we need to stick together more even though it’s been a good stretch for us, we can’t expect it to go our way every night unless we work for it.” — Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen
Need to know
McDavid led all forwards with 24:49 of ice time and had a game-high eight shots on goal. … The Maple Leafs scored at least four goals for the 10th time in their past 11 games.
What’s next
Oilers: At the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, SNW, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, NHL.TV)