Maple Leafs vs. Oilers Looked Even — Until a Bad Habit Doomed Toronto

Going into Saturday’s matchup between the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, this was a game that seemed like a coin flip might decide things. The Maple Leafs and Oilers were only a point apart in the league’s standings, and given their past meetings, any bet might have been a good one. Unfortunately, those who bet on the Maple Leafs lost their money.

Connor McDavid wowed at the start of the game, but the Maple Leafs scored two in response. Edmonton tied it up, and through two periods, it still felt tight. Goals went back and forth, and Toronto kept itself in the game. Down just 3-2 heading into the third, you wondered if it was going to come down to a bounce or a mistake.

It didn’t take long in the third period for the game to absolutely go South for Toronto. Watching, I could see the game flip in a moment. Edmonton waited for the Maple Leafs to make a mistake. And it didn’t take long for that to happen – over and over again. The Maple Leafs began making bad passes, and the Oilers immediately opened up the ice. When Toronto blinked, the Oilers went to work.

The game stopped being about which team was better and became about how the Oilers exposed the Maple Leafs and capitalized on every mistake.

The Maple Leafs’ Middle-Ice Turnovers Become Fatal

I lost count of how many times Toronto tried to force pucks through the middle of the ice without support. Against slower teams, those plays might die quietly. Against a strong transition team like Edmonton, Toronto wasn’t about to get away with such glaring turnovers.

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were already moving the other way before Maple Leafs defenders could recover. McDavid’s first goal was a prime example, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Morgan Rielly almost looking like they were simply getting out of the way.

Even when McDavid wasn’t touching the puck, he was warping the game. His speed through the neutral zone forced defenders to back off or guess, and guessing is death against a team like this. Draisaitl fed off that hesitation, finding space as Toronto began reacting rather than dictating.

The Maple Leafs’ Third-Period Structure Couldn’t Hold

For two periods, the Maple Leafs were disciplined enough to survive the Oilers’ pace. In the third, that discipline disappeared. Breakouts stalled. Changes got sloppy.

Toronto began to cough up the puck, mostly by throwing no-look passes to centre ice. And before too long, the Oilers overwhelmed them. The Maple Leafs were barely able to break out of their own end. That, in a nutshell, was the third period.

If you just check the box score, it looks like the goalie wore this one. That’s not fair. Dennis Hildeby was hung out all night, seeing rush after rush and plays that never should’ve reached him. The structure in front of him collapsed, and suddenly, he was facing numbers no goalie wins against. After that, the score got ugly.

Final Thoughts About the Oilers and the Maple Leafs

This game result wasn’t about effort, and it wasn’t about talent. For long stretches, these teams looked evenly matched. The difference came down to how each handled pressure once the game loosened. Edmonton stayed patient and ruthless. Toronto played into their hands. When things unravelled, the Maple Leafs looked almost completely inept.

Against teams with this kind of speed and star power, the margin is thin. And once it disappears, it goes fast. The Maple Leafs found that out quickly last night.

Related: Berube Calls Out Maple Leafs’ Leaders As “No Shows”