TORONTO – Perhaps it was after Connor Hellebuyck lost his stick, yet still scrambled to deny Mitch Marner right at the blue paint.
Maybe it was when the reigning Vezina champ stoned one of the three Toronto Maple Leafs — William Nylander, Zach Hyman and Pierre Engvall — on their clear-cut breakaways.
Or when Paul “Bunyan” Stastny lumberjacked Morgan Rielly’s stick to shards in overtime, a slash that went uncalled, and three Winnipeg Jets forwards closed in on Frederik Andersen’s crease, sniffing another victory.
But at some point prior to Thursday night’s storybook climax — as Toronto generated its 45th high-danger chance (to the Jets’ 11) and Hellebuyck made his 70th save through two games — a thought flashed through Sheldon Keefe’s mind.
What if we dominate play but come up empty, again? What if this skid extends to four and Winnipeg creeps within striking distance of the division lead? How do I convince my room that they’re on the right track?
“We very easily could have been on the other side of this one here tonight,” said Coach Keefe, after a roller-coaster 4-3 win that required four periods and line juggling and the kitchen sink.
“How do you frame that? How do you stay with it [considering] the fact you’re not getting the results and all of that?”
Zach Hyman says the Maple Leafs will be served well by this recent bout of adversity.
Nylander, who could be seen firing a puck at the boards during a TV timeout, believes, sometimes, frustration is a good thing: “I like it.”
Embrace the suck.
Or, as Joe Thornton said, wisely: “It’s a long year. You’ve got to enjoy the process. There’s going to be downs, but you fight through.”
Ostensibly, the sage old Leaf was talking about hockey. But on the anniversary of the pandemic shutting down sports and so much more, Jumbo could well have been speaking for all of us.
An earlier edition of this same Maple Leafs core might have wilted every time Hellebuyck windmilled the leather or tracked another cross-seamed pass perfectly.
They might’ve made passive-aggressive comments about whistles that went unblown or condemned their puck luck.
Or fell out of sync once Keefe mixed his top nine on the fly, trying Thornton alongside John Tavares and William Nylander.
So, it is saying something that the Leafs’ top-end talent never stopped pushing through their mini slump.
Morgan Rielly notched two assists, bringing his total to 19. Marner’s 11th even-strength goal vaulted him into a tie for second overall in that category. Tavares drew three defenders on an up-the-gut rush, then dished to Nylander for a beautiful one-timer. Hyman, Marner, Nylander and Auston Matthews — contributing another two-point night with a hurting hand — each registered a minimum of five shots on goal.
“We were generating a lot. It just felt like a matter of time before it would go in for us. I thought the guys were really working,” Keefe said, letting pride encroach his relief. “To get rewarded with a win certainly feels good.”
Nylander, in particular, shone bright, generating his own breakaway with a rare shot block, stripping pucks in the neutral zone, and pumping a game-high six shots.
“Willy Nylander had his best game of the season today,” Keefe enthused. “He was outstanding. It was great to see him get rewarded with a goal, because he certainly earned it with how he was playing. I’ve been really encouraged.
“He just looked determined — determined to score, determined to make a difference.”
A win like this, general manager Kyle Dubas would argue, is why you invest tens of millions in the difference-makers.
Quadruple down on talent.
Give enough looks to enough skilled players and, eventually, they’ll solve even the hottest goaltender.
Which is precisely what Matthews did, 59 seconds into a hectic overtime. Bum wrist and all.
Funny how the hockey gods taketh and giveth.
When Stastny chopped Rielly’s stick in sudden death and no penalty was called, Marner hit the deck to break up the Jets’ chance while Rielly fetched a fresh twig.
“There was a lot of yelling going on in that D-zone when Mo did break his stick. Me and Tone [Matthews] were kind of snow-angeling down there, playing whatever we could,” Marner described.
Marner head-manned the puck to Rielly, now in fine position to spring a gasping Matthews, who faked shot and roofed a buttery backhand deke for his league-leading sixth game-winner.
The move?
“I think it’s difficult for a lot of people; it’s not difficult for Tony [Matthews]. I’ve seen him pull it off a lot of times,” Marner said. “No one’s really surprised by it, regardless of how he’s feeling.”
“He’s a star. That’s what they do,” Keefe added.
“The condition of his hand and stuff aside, he was quite tired there, too. That was a long shift. A long shift in overtime. Overtime shifts are difficult. Just to have the energy to get up the ice and put himself in that spot amongst the chaos of the broken stick and all of that nonsense that was happening. That’s big-time stuff.”
Big-time talent.
Big-time slump bust.
Big-time rubber match, Saturday.
Lalonde on Monday’s victory
“I can’t speak enough on the guys. I know this is the 13th game in which we were trailing in the third and we got two full points. Not took points, not lost in overtime. We actually won the game. We actually talked about it after the second (period), you have these little things throughout the year, when it happens, we’ll tap back into that.”
Lalonde on the Canadiens taking an early lead
“They scored on both of their chances in the second (period). Again, it’s frustrating. Not a great game, not a clean game. Credit to them, but we’re going to get out of that period two chances against and they both go in. Five chances over two periods, four go in. We just gave them too much easy offense around the scoring area. Not a lot, but just enough.”
Raymond on his game-winner
“Just saw Larks up ice, thought he was going for a breakaway first but he was probably pretty tired. Then just tried to jump up. I was pretty tired too and then just tried to get off a shot. Happy it went in.”
Raymond on being part of a postseason chase
“It’s been a lot of emotions up and down, but it’s been fun. I think all of us have enjoyed it. I think we’ve stuck with it and have been able to pull through with some really big points here down the stretch. I think if you look at our locker room, we have so many competitive guys who enjoy these types of games. Obviously would have liked it to be a little more steady, but it is what it is and we’ll take it from there. It shows a lot about our team, the way we’re able to come back in these games and come through in the end.”
Raymond on the crowd at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night
“This building has been amazing ever since I’ve been here. Tonight it helped us for sure, when you get momentum like that and the crowd feeds into it you get energy from that. Always feels really good whenever we’re able to give back to them. Just happy we were able to get a win for all the guys and girls here.”
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The Edmonton Oilers wrapped up their regular home season schedule on Tuesday with a 9-2 romp over an over-matched San Jose Sharks.
Along the way, Connor McDavid in his return from a minor injury skated into the National Hockey League record books with his 100th assist of the season.
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Here is the tale of the tape…
STUART SKINNER. 6. Stuart skinner barely broke a sweat in the 1st Period as the Oilers dominated San Jose at the other end. Allowed an uggggly one early in the 2nd. Bast to get those out of the way now before the playoffs arrive. Redeemed himself with a glove save that snatched away a breakaway bid from Givani Smith. Fine stop on a Graf one-timer early in the 3rd. The victim of a twisted-up scramble in front on the 9-2. Wins his 36th game of the season.
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CONNOR McDAVID. 8. Returned to the lineup after a three-game absence and scored 13 seconds into his first shift, receiving a nice pass from Nurse, and streaking up the left side before banking it in off a defender for the 1-0. Excellent back-check took away a net side opportunity from Granlund early in the 2nd. Started the play with a steal in his own zone but no assist on the 7-1. He did that on the 9-1. 97 burst into the San Jose zone on a 2-on-1 and sifted a pass across to Zach Hyman who buried his 54th and put his linemate into the NHL record books with 100th assist. Only Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr had done that previously. The Rogers Place subsequently showered their Captain with a thundering chant of “MVP, MVP, MVP.” His grade here is elevated one, full point in recognition of his accomplishment.
ADAM HENRIQUE. 8. A terrific performance while flanking Connor McDavid on the top line. Won the O-Zone faceoff on the 2-0 sequence, then beat two defenders to the net where he found the puck and deposited it behind the netminder for his 6th as an Oiler. Found Holloway in front for the 2-0. Rang another off the post. Lasered a pass across to a hard-charging Cody Ceci for the 7-1. Excellent defensively, although this trio had the puck…a lot! +4.
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ZACH HYMAN. 7. Zach Hyman was whistled for an unlucky high sticking call in the 1st. Secondary assist on the 7-1. Then, became a part of history as he shoveled home a perfect pass from Connor McDavid for the 9-1 goal (his 54th) as #97 hit the 100 Assist mark. +3.
DARNELL NURSE. 8. A 3-point night. A stretch pass up the middle to McDavid on the 1-0. Collected a 2nd assist on the Holloway goal after he found Henrique deep in the San Jose zone. Earned his 3rd assist on the 8-1. 3rd Period post. 3 shots, 3hits. Led the team in 5v5 CF at 28-9, 76%. High Dangers 4-2.
CODY CECI. 7. Charged in from the point and potted a perfectly timed Henrique feed for the 7-1. At that point, San Jose’s young goalie was mercifully pulled. High Dangers 55v 5-2.+4.
LEON DRAISAITL. 7. Nifty pass to a pinching Ekholm for a dangerous shot. Won a hard board Battle in his own zone and then dished up a ridiculous one-handed, back-hand pass to a hard-charging Foegele who beat the goaltender 5-hole for the 3-0. Secondary assist on the 5-1. Nice pass to Foegele who stung the post with a wicked wrist shot. 73% on draws. 5v5 CF 71%.
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RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 6. Deflection pass to Foegele on the 5-1. Busted his ass in 1 9-1 game to get back and erase a 2-on-1, but the puck continued to pin-ball round and ended up the 9-2.
WARREN FOEGELE. 7. Took a fantastic pass from Draisaitl, broke hard up the left-hand side and beat the Sharks goalie between the pads for the 3-0, his 18th. Corralled his 19th with a hard battle in front finishing with a rebound swatted home to make it 5-1. Rang the post hard mid-way through the 3rd. 8 shots. Led the forwards in 5v5 CF (23-8, 74%).
MATTIAS EKHOLM. 8. Ekholm hammered a slapper off the goalie’s shoulder after a nice feed from Draisaitl. He and Bouchard got crossed up a bit on the 4-1 play, but no one was more at fault than the goaltender. +4. 5v5 CF 28-11, 72%. In terms of 5v5 High Dangers, Mattias Ekholm was a commanding 12-0. Wow.
EVAN BOUCHARD. 8. Earned his 80th point of the season with a secondary assist on the 6-1. Only the great Paul Coffey has achieved that mark for a D-man in Oilers franchise history. Tapped in a dandy pass from Perry. +3. High Danger scoring chances 5v5? Evan Bouchard was 11-0.
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RYAN McLEOD. 7. A steal deep in the San Jose zone led to the 8-1. The pivot on a trio that had San Jose on its heels much of the night. McLeod, Holloway, and Perry have some kind of chemistry right now.
DYLAN HOLLOWAY. 8. His first 3-point game of his NHL career. Lowered the boom on Granlund in his own zone with a heavy hit in the 1st. Then, slapped home a slick pass from Henrique late in the 1st from the high slot for the 4-0. Could not quite bury a pass from Corey Perry early in the 2nd. Then, just a terrific feed across to Perry for the 6-1. Great play along the wall helped lead to Bouchard’s goal, the 8-1. 4 shots, 4 hits. Making it a very difficult decision to not play him in Game 1 of the post season.
COREY PERRY. 7. Part of a withering cycle then eventually resulted in the 4-0. A feed to Holloway for a chance early in the 2nd. Slammed home the 6-1 goal off a terrific feed from Holloway. Perfect, feathery-soft pass to Bouchard net side for the 8-1 marker. 3rd Period post. +3.
BRETT KULAK. 5. Fired the shot from the point which Henrique found for the 2-0.
VINCENT DESHARNAIS. 5. Caught up trying to make a play in a 9-1 game. San Jose turned that into a jail break and eventually the 9-1.
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SAM CARRICK. 5. 80% on faceoffs. This line got lots of ice with the score being so one-sided. Carrick played 15:21. 1 shot, 2 hits.
MATTIAS JANMARK. 5. Skated miles, solid defensively but his stats line was flat as the prairie horizon: 0-0-0, 0 shots, 0 hits, +/- of 0 in a 9-2 game.
CONNOR BROWN. 5. Did manage 3 shots on net and like Janmark, worked hard.
Edmonton’s record now sits at 49-25-6, 104 points. 3 back of Vancouver in the Pacific with 2 games left.
Find me on Threads @kleavins, on Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social, and X @KurtLeavins.
McCURDY: Oilers bakes into 2nd in the Pacific, who comes up from The Bake?
STAPLES: Edmonton Oilers excellent on D, not on attack versus Canucks
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