The Atmosphere is always electric when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to Rogers Place to battle the Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, the Oilers laid an egg on home ice for their second regulation loss of the season. Toronto was easily the better team and beat Edmonton 7-2.
Jack Roslovic, Auston Matthews, Troy Stecher, William Nylander (2), Zack MacEwen, and Vinnie Lettieri scored for the Maple Leafs, while Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers. Anthony Stolarz stopped 30 of 32 shots for a .938 save percentage (SV%) in the win, while Tristan Jarry stopped 25 of 30 shots for an .833 SV% in defeat.
This game had no redeeming qualities for Edmonton, so don’t expect any positives, because there weren’t any. They were bad and made way too many mistakes. They’ve had a great start to the season, so hopefully we can chalk this up as an off night. Here are three takeaways from this brutal loss.
Oilers Were Outworked
The Oilers were badly outworked. The Maple Leafs won battles and wanted it more, and it showed. The Oilers didn’t score a 5-on-5 goal, as one was 4-on-4, and the other was on the man advantage. The top line also got outscored 2-0 at 5-on-5. They failed to manage the puck, which led to odd-man rushes against.
“The bottom line is that they were better than us. They were more competitive than us, and they were quicker than us. In your own building on a Saturday night, that should be automatic. You should never get outworked,” Mike Babcock stated during his postgame presser. The effort was inexcusable.
Zero Production From the Bottom Six
If the top line isn’t effective, the Oilers aren’t finding success. The bottom six didn’t generate anything as usual. At 5-on-5, they were outshot 11-6 and outchanced 10-2. The Aex Formenton, Owen Michaels, and Mathieu Joseph line was especially bad, getting outchanced 6-0, including 3-0 in high-danger chances, and outscored 1-0. They’ve been ineffective for several games, so it’s time to split them up.
Filip Hallander and Max Jones played, while Trent Frederic and Isaac Howard were healthy scratches. Howard has played well the last few games, so it was surprising to see him out. Howard is an offensive player, so he should be on the third line to provide a boost. The bottom six desperately needs a shake-up because they aren’t generating enough.
Their lack of production puts more pressure on the big guns. Their top line can’t be the entire offence every game. At some point, they need secondary scoring. The only significant forward missing from the lineup is Matt Savoie. They are also without Jason Dickinson, but he won’t help offensively. Savoie likely won’t come in and change the bottom sixes’ scoring woes. Injuries are no longer an excuse. The players in the lineup need to prove that they belong there. Or, it might be time for some call-ups and for certain players to hit the waiver wire.
Rough Night for Walman
This has been a common theme the past two seasons. Jake Walman had another bad game. Mattias Ekholm’s injury forced Walman on the top pair alongside Evan Bouchard. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the most of the opportunity.
Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
His game started with a scary situation. Roslovic’s stick got tangled in Walman’s skate, and he crashed hard into the end boards. He got up slowly, favouring his ankle. He returned after the first TV timeout, but he struggled mightily.
On Toronto’s first goal, he slid to defend a 2-on-1 rush, but the puck ricocheted off his stick and in. The fifth goal against was laughable. Walman stumbled while skating back and was beaten by MacEwen. Then, he dropped his stick, and the puck bounced in the air and into the net.
When Walman was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Oilers were outshot 11-8, outchanced 8-7, and outscored 2-0. He’s not nearly tough enough to play against and makes too many errors. The Oilers inked him to a seven-year deal with a $7 million cap hit, and they are just in year one. This contract will age horribly if his play doesn’t improve.
The Oilers continue their five-game homestand on Monday, Oct. 26, against the Detroit Red Wings. Edmonton will look for revenge against Toronto on Nov. 14. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
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