Oilers 5, Maple Leafs 2
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Toronto Maple Leafs could not find a way to stop the Edmonton Oilers' line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot.
McDavid had a five-point night, Eberle had three goals and an assist and Pouliot chipped in four assists, spearheading the Oilers to a 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday at Rexall Place.
It was the first five-point night of McDavid's career. The first overall pick in the 2015 draft did it against the team he grew up cheering for -- McDavid grew up in the Toronto suburbs.
The game pitted teams occupying the basements of their respective conferences. With the win, the Leafs are now dead last in the NHL's overall standings, two points behind the Oilers.
Just 3:29 into the game, after goalie Cam Talbot stopped a shot from the point, left winger Pouliot retrieved the puck along the boards and keyed a two-on-one break. He slid the puck over to center McDavid, who swept the puck around the pad of Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier.
The Leafs tied the game at 8:06, when left winger Josh Leivo's wrist shot beat Talbot after Oilers center Matt Hendricks failed to control a pass from defenseman Justin Schultz.
At 6:25 of the second period, right winger Eberle gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead, picking up a loose puck in the slot and wristing it into the net.
Eberle made it 3-1 on the power play at 18:36 of the second, firing home a cross-ice seeing-eye pass from McDavid.
But, with just 14 seconds left in the period, Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner made it 3-2, after his centering pass ricocheted off both Oilers center Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Darnell Nurse before hopping across the goal line.
McDavid's wrist shot from the slot made it 4-2 with 6:05 left, putting an exclamation point on the finest performance of his young NHL career. Eberle got his first career hat trick with a late empty-netter.
NOTES: Oilers G Laurent Brossoit was in uniform Thursday, backing up G Cam Talbot. He was called up from the Oilers' AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif., on Wednesday, while G Anders Nilsson went the other way. ... D Jared Cowen and C Colin Greening, acquired Tuesday from Ottawa as part of a nine-player trade, were with the Leafs on Thursday. Cowen was scratched along with C Shawn Matthias. LW Milan Michalek, also acquired in the deal, is out with a broken finger. ... Leafs C Nazem Kadri was fined $5,000 by the NHL for a throat-slashing gesture he made in Tuesday's loss to Calgary. He was out Thursday with a lower-body injury ... The Oilers scratched D Adam Clendening and C Anton Lander. D Oscar Klefbom is out with a lower-body injury. C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand) D Andrew Ference (hip surgery) join Klefbom on injured reserve. ... The Leafs have four players on injured reserve: D Stephane Robidas (lower body), LW Joffrey Lupul (undisclosed), LW James van Riemsdyk (foot) and C Tyler Bozak (upper body).