A winnable game went down the drain.
On Saturday evening, the Edmonton Oilers started their Eastern Conference road trip against the Canadian teams, falling 4-3 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Early in the first period, the Oilers got on the board, as Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique were on a two-on-one. Janmark sauced it over on his backhand with Henrique getting on the end of it.
However, just two minutes later, Bobby McMann tied the game as he was left all alone in front of Stuart Skinner. The score stayed this way until the second period.
Early in the second period, the Oilers’ power play managed to get on the board. Leon Draisaitl’s shot led to a juicy rebound, with Connor McDavid shooting it until the wide-open net.
As they’ve done so often this season, the Oilers were unable to close out the game. With under seven minutes remaining, Evan Bouchard’s pass attempt bounced off McDavid’s, giving Matthew Knies the game-tying goal. McMann scored his second of the game less than a minute later on a breakaway.
The Oilers were able to tie the game with the empty net, as with half a minute remaining, Draisaitl pounced on a loose puck at the doorstep and beat the Leafs’ netminder to even the game at three.
Sadly, the Leafs won the game less than a minute in overtime on a two-on-one, beating Stuart Skinner off the post and in. The Oilers still get a point, but that game could’ve gone significantly better.

Takeaways…

For nearly two periods, the Oilers were without Darnell Nurse. Shortly after the opening goal in the second period, Ryan Reaves targeted Nurse’s head on the forecheck with a hit. He got a match penalty and was ejected from game, but the Oilers were unable to capitalize on the five-minute power play.
Adam Henrique picked up his second goal of the season, the first one in a while. He’s been reunited with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown, with both wingers picking up an assist.
Connor McDavid picked up point number 1,002 and 1,003, scoring his seventh goal of the season and picking up an assist on Leon Draisaitl’s 13th goal of the season. Draisaitl is now tied for the league lead in goals as well, while picking up an assist on McDavid’s goal. Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had an assist as well.
The Oilers return to action on Monday, as they play the Montréal Canadiens at 5:30 PM MT on Amazon Prime. Hopefully, Nurse’s injury is worse than it looks, because losing him is a bigger problem than we may realize.
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