The Edmonton Oilers continued their east coast dominance tonight, winning their third consecutive game after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Wednesday night and the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Monday. The Leafs expected to face a tired Oilers team, who were playing their third game in four nights, but were down early on a soft goal by Jordan Eberle. Through the first 40 minutes, the Oilers build a 2-0 lead with only 7 shots on goal.
Taylor Hall skated pass Leaf defenseman Francois Beauchemin and beat Jonas Gustavsson on a backhand shot at 6:24 of the second period. Gustavsson got the pull from head coach Ron Wilson and was replaced by Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who came in cold after sitting on the sidelines for two weeks with an injured groin.
Giguere make a series of solid saves throughout the latter part of the second period and into the third, but could not close out the Oilers offense. Sam Gagner tucked a weak one past Giguere with 3 seconds remaining in the second period to give the Oilers an insurance goal heading into the final frame. The boos reigned down from the visibly disappointed fans at the Air Canada Centre, ranging from ‘Go Oilers Go’ chants to ‘Fire Wilson’.
The Leafs had a few quality scores chances in the third period, but were denied by Nikolai Khabibulan, who played surprisingly well for his lack of action between the pipes for Edmonton. Nikolai Kulemin fired a quick shot towards the Oilers net, but was stopped once again by the Bulin Wall. Taylor Hall sealed the deal with his second goal of the contest and eighth of the season on a beautiful play. Hall fired the puck over Giguere’s shoulder to give the Oil a daunting 4-0 lead. Ryan Jones buried his fifth of the year on a breakaway to cap off the scoring at 17:29 of the third period.
Young Oilers forward Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner combined for 6 points on the night. Hall led the way with 2 goals to bring home first star honours, while Eberle notched 3 points in his first career visit to Toronto. Nikolai Khabibulan was named first star after stopping 33 shots in an outstanding effort.
Toronto’s special teams woes continued in tonight’s losing effort. They went 0-for-5 on the powerplay and currently sit 29th in the league. The blue and white are back at it on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start between the pipes.
Having gone winless in four games and losing 13 of their past 16, the Leafs desperately need a change of culture and Brian Burke is on the clock to make some sort of move prior to Saturday’s game. Speculation has run rampant that Ron Wilson could be given the pink slip, but it appears that a trade is the more likely route.
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