The Toronto Maple Leafs completed their Western Canada road swing with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Saturday, but nearly blew a third period lead for the second straight game.
Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and Jake Muzzin scored for Toronto and Frederik Andersen carried a shutout into the final two minutes of regulation, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Oscar Klefbom scored with goalie Anthony Stolarz pulled for the extra attacker to narrow the gap to 3-2.
Connor McDavid nearly set up Zack Kassian in the waning seconds for the tying goal, but the Leafs held on to earn five of a possible six points on the road and stay within four points of Boston in the race for second place in the Atlantic.
“We controlled the puck, were heavy on the cycle, did lots of really good things.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “I'd like to have the last two minutes back. We couldn't figure out where to stand at the end, but that'll do it. That's a good team, we'll go back and take a look at it and fix that. You can't give up that, but Fred [Andersen] was real strong and it was a good win.”
It is a troubling trend that the Leafs nearly folded late in the third after blowing a two-goal lead to Vancouver on Wednesday, especially when it coincides with Babcock leaning heavily on his top four D. Ron Hainsey, Morgan Rielly, Muzzin and Nikita Zaitsev (who led the Leafs in TOI) all played in excess of 20 minutes, while the bottom pairing of Martin Marincin and Igor Ozhiganov played just over 11 minutes on the night.
Babcock relying on his more experienced defensemen is understandable in a limited window when Toronto is short-handed due to injuries on the blueline, but it is not sustainable if he continues to pile on ice time over the last four weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs.
The tables are now reversed for the Bruins and Leafs, as Boston heads to the road for three straight after extending their consecutive point streak to 19 with a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Saturday. Toronto plays three straight at Scotiabank Arena, starting with their first home meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, while the Bruins start a three-game road trip in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston provided an update on defenseman Jake Gardiner’s health status during HNIC’s Saturday Headlines. Gardiner has been out for over two weeks with back issues and said that this week should provide some insight into whether he will be able to return to the Leafs lineup in advance of the playoffs next month.
Earlier in the week, GM Kyle Dubas indicated that the problem the blueliner is having is separate from the back spasm issues he had before the All-Star break.
Johnston indicated that surgery is not being contemplated at this time, which would be a significant loss for Toronto and for Gardiner, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
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