Leafs jump on Oilers early, hang on for 4-3 win

EDMONTON – Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner each had a goal and an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs came out flying and survived a frantic finish to record a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

William Nylander and Bobby McMann also scored and Auston Matthews had a pair of assists for the Leafs (31-19-2) who snapped a three-game losing streak during which they had only recorded three goals.

Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Corey Perry replied for the Oilers (32-16-4) who have lost two straight.

Joseph Woll managed to make 45 stops to collect the win in net for the Maple Leafs, while Stuart Skinner recorded 24 saves in the loss for the Oilers.

TAKEAWAYS

Maple Leafs: Toronto got a major boost to its lineup with forwards John Tavares and Knies both returning to the lineup. Tavares has missed the past six games with a lower-body injury, while Knies has been out two games with an upper-body injury. As a result, Ryan Reaves was a healthy scratch, which probably helped to reduce tensions. Reaves was suspended five games for a vicious hit on Oiler Darnell Nurse when the two teams met in November in Toronto.

Oilers: Bouchard scored his ninth goal of the season and the 50th of his career, becoming the second-fastest defenceman in Oilers history to hit the mark. Bouchard leads the NHL with 52 shots over 145-kilometres-per-hour this season. Edmonton is fifth in the NHL in goals by defencemen with 29, now just four back of the league-leading Columbus Blue Jackets with 33. Toronto is last among goals by defenders with 11.

NYLANDER MILESTONE

Nylander scored his 30th goal of the season, the fourth consecutive season he has hit the milestone. Nylander is fifth in Leafs franchise history with five 30-goal campaigns in his career and also became the fourth Swedish player in NHL history to do so.

KEY MOMENT

Edmonton looked to have tied the game with 2:04 remaining in the third period and the goalie pulled as Connor McDavid sent it across to Leon Draisaitl and he picked the top corner with a one-timer. However, it turned out that John Klingberg was offside on the play after a successful coach’s challenge. The Oilers poured it on to the wire and came close on a few occasions, but Woll was able to make a huge glove save on Perry in the dying seconds to preserve the win.

KEY STAT

Toronto has had the Oilers’ number for quite some time now owning a 12-2-2 record in their last 16 games overall and a 10-2-1 record in their last 13 games played in Edmonton. The last time Edmonton won a season series between the two teams was back in 2002-2003.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Visit the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Oilers: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2025.

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