EDMONTON — Joseph Woll’s 45th save might have been the most spectacular, given he was stickless and sprawling and the seconds were ticking away too slowly.
Or maybe it was the 44th. Or the 43rd. Or the 42nd. Or…
However many pucks the Edmonton Oilers — buzzing and desperate — flung toward the net of the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Woll and the scrambling defenders in front of him and the eagle-eyed video coaches above him were determined to not let a fourth one count.
Not on a night when the Leafs’ offence finally clicked and their road-warrior fan base was so thick, it could razz the home team goalie.
“It was chaotic. It was hectic. Glad we sealed the deal there,” a relieved Matthew Knies said after Toronto got outshot 48-28 but hung on for a 4-3 win. “I think Woller did an incredible job keeping that out of the net. And I think all the guys selling out just shows the determination in our room.”
That determination elevated at the finish line, as the Maple Leafs successfully challenged Leon Draisaitl’s apparent tying goal due to a 17-seconds-old offside and out-blocked the home team 24-7.
“It was a playoff-type game. That’s what it felt like to me,” said Craig Berube, singling out the effort of his goalie.
“Just the battle. Because the way they play — they move that puck around, and they shoot a lot — there’s a lot of attempts that are coming at the net. And I thought he was fighting through traffic and fighting for the puck. Battled hard. Made some great saves from competing.”
Winning hockey can be boiled down to the simplest of formulas: score goals + save goals.
The source of the Leafs’ latest three-game losing skid, which they packed onto this week’s westbound charter, was straightforward.
They couldn’t find two goals to rub together in any of those losses.
But for all the talk of funnelling more net-front traffic or burying their minimal chances, lamenting a smashed post here or a wasted power-play there, the lack of scoring had much to do with personnel.
As in, not enough offensive talent to roll out two threatening lines, let alone three that felt dangerous.
Well, cue the healthy recruits.
The timely return of John Tavares and Knies was instrumental Saturday — a game that started right on time, for those in the East.
That former landlord-tenant duo had missed a combined eight games due to injury but didn’t miss a beat in their return.
William Nylander — who had been left on a second-line island during Tavares’s absence — opened the scoring on a hardworking slot feed from his star centreman, and thanks to a big-bodied screen by fellow winger Max Pacioretty.
Then the Leafs converted on both of their first-period power plays. Knies tucked on a blue-paint rebound from an Auston Matthews shot; and Bobby McMann, the pride of nearby Wainwright, Alta., sniped with Mom and Dad among the invasion of Blue and White fans at Rogers Place.
“Got a lot of friends and family and cousins and everyone in the stands watching. So that was a cool feeling,” said McMann, who shared a homecooked meal with Grandma Friday night.
“Grew up around here, watching the Oilers all the time. So, it was sweet.”
Just like that, the Maple Leafs had amassed as many goals in 13 minutes as they had in the previous 180.
Berube’s system and Woll’s focus don’t allow 3-0 leads to slip often, even against the world’s elite.
As was the case when the Leafs defeated the Oilers by the same score in Toronto earlier this season, Tavares saw plenty of Connor McDavid’s top line and helped keep him off the scoresheet, despite ripping a game-high nine shots.
“One of the best players and most reliable centremen in the league,” Pacioretty said of Tavares. “It’s no secret that probably the most important position in a team is down the middle, so when you lose a guy like that it obviously stings. We know what he does for our team.”
Same goes for Mitch Marner, whose slippery solo effort 18 seconds into the third period survived as the game-winner. Despite Edmonton’s almost-comeback.
“He scored on me pretty much like that in practice the day before,” Woll chuckled. “So, no surprise on that one. I’ve seen that a couple of times and been on the wrong end of it. He’s a heckuva player. Special goal.”
When a stickless Woll splayed out his glove for Save 45, robbing Corey Perry of a buzzer-beater, Marner was the first to grab him and share in the moment of joy and relief.
“He is just so elusive and feels like he can make a play at any point. Like, he’s stick handling and still feels like he can make a play in all the chaos,” Woll said.
The goalie was talking about Marner but could’ve easily been discussing himself.
Fox’s Fast Five
• McDavid and Matthews’ off-ice relationship has grown steadily since they were Team North America teammates at the 2016 World Cup.
They now share an agent, Judd Moldaver, who should have a hoot negotiating for the valedictorian of the 2026 UFA class considering the spiking salary cap.
And they share a national McDonald’s campaign, for which they spent hours together shooting in front of the camera.
“It was a long couple days together, but it was fun to spend some time with him,” McDavid says. “It’s been a relationship that’s built over the years, but it’s a good one for sure.”
“Definitely some long days, but it made it a little bit easier to have someone there with you going through it all,” Matthews agrees. “It was fun to look back on and kind of seeing them come out with the commercials and stuff, and just the history of that particular one. I mean, it’s pretty cool.”
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson skated just 5:09 before suffering a lower-body injury that ended his night. He’s day-to-day.
“We got to evaluate him a little bit more,” Berube said. “I thought our D battled hard tonight with five D. That’s not easy.”
• In the Matthews-Marner-Nylander era, the Maple Leafs have a better record against the Oilers than any other opponent: 19-4-2.
• Does Matthews try to glean anything from McDavid’s approach to the sport?
“I mean, it’d be great if I could take the way he skates and just plug it into my game. That’d be nice,” Matthews smiles. “But obviously there’s probably only one or two other guys in the world that can do that.”
• Too hurt to travel west with the Leafs, Jani Hakanpää (knee) pulled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off Saturday.
“You have that little special thing there, you try to work your way to,” Hakanpää, a proud Finn, told me a couple weeks ago.
“It gives that little extra boost every day knowing that’s just around the corner. Hopefully, I can get there in time and help Team Finland create some good memories again.”
With No. 1 defenceman Miro Heiskanen also injured, the door is open for a very short list of replacements such as Urho Vaakanainen and Henri Jokiharju.
Only 11 Finnish blueliners have appeared in an NHL game this season.
