So, first off, wow, this line up:
Michael Grabner - Peter Holland- Leo Komarov
Colin Greening- Mark Arcobello - P.A. Parenteau
Daniel Winnik - Nick Spaling - Brad Boyes
Josh Leivo - Byron Froese - Rich Clune
Matt Hunwick - Morgan Rielly
Jake Gardiner - Roman Polak
Martin Marincin - Frank Corrado
There's also this:
The salary cap this year is $71.4.
— Platinum Seat Ghosts (@3rdPeriodSuits) February 12, 2016
The Leafs lineup tonight has a cap hit of 29.6M.
Okay, let's get right to this. First I have to find a way around blackouts, because it's 2016 and those are still a thing.
Sportsnet West kicks off the broadcast talking about bowls, or salads or something, and say McDavid a out a dozen times.
Here are our first line match ups:
Winnik-Spaling-Boyes line starts against Pakarinen-Letestu-Yakupov line.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 12, 2016
......sigh.
I tried to call in sick, but Scott wouldn't take my totally legit doctors note:
I take it back @PPPLeafs, I cant recap tonight game. I have a doctors note: pic.twitter.com/c8IC0lSca6
— Square Suburban Dad (@ElSeldo) February 11, 2016
We're at the anthem and wow, these orange Oilers jerseys are pretty nice looking.
The game starts and hockey is being played!
TSN commentators say that Babcock is putting Greening out vs McDavid. This will end well.
If you took a shot every time it was mentioned McDavid was a Leafs fan growing up, I bet you'd die of alcohol poisoning.
Ouch, Leivo takes a big hit near the Oilers net, skates back to the bench, but he looks ok.
The Oilers chip the puck out of the Leafs around off the boards, and Poulin feeds it to McDavid who is a step ahead of the D-man covering him, Arcobello, and scores and easy looking shot on Bernier 5 minutes into the game.
Beautiful goal.
And that's how it's done. #TORvsEDM pic.twitter.com/iLo8I8A1fD
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2016
Holy crap, Eberle is almost at 400 games? This is his 399th.
From what it looks like to me, the Leafs aren't putting much effort into keeping control of the puck, a lot of the play is the Oilers getting into the Leafs zone and the Leafs dumping it out. If the Leafs want to win here, and IF they do, they need to try not to be fancy, and knock people over.
As I type that, Leivo skates the puck into the Oilers zone, and shoots from the dot and send the puck high glove side into the Oilers net. 1-1 tie game here.
That was Leivos 2nd goal on 3 shots over the past two games.
Ah commercial break. My first job out of college was supposed to be the guy who swaps around commercial breaks or blacks them out on Centre Ice. I don't know if it's automated now, but back then there was a row of monitors and guys whose jobs it was to push a button to black out the commercials. I was happy to be employed (kinda) in my field (everyone goes to school to be a director, not a button pusher). Then the NHL locked out it's players. Then cancelled the season. Thanks Gary!
Game is back on, and Arcobello gets a nice shot on Talbot, Rielly nabs the rebound and a scramble, but Talbot lets nothing in and the Oilers clear.
The tables have turned here and the Leafs are running all over the Oilers. Well, I mean, neither is doing super defensively, but the Leafs are hemming the Oilers into their own end a bit.
Holland deflects a puck, Leo gets a hold of it, and has a nice breakaway but goes into Talbots pad. The Leafs try to keep it in, but the Oilers get it out. It gets behind the Leafs net, but the Oilers do absolutely nothing.
Uncle Leo, hello! ... and goodbye. #TORvsEDM pic.twitter.com/bU60hO9Jto
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2016
We get the first penalty, to Eric Gryba for tripping, and the Leafs head to the power play. The forwards on the PP unit have a total of 14 goals. 13 are from Parenteau. Yay!
The PP unit gets a real nice chance, but it just rolls past the open net. Leafs keeping the Oilers away from the puck on the PP. Lots of passing, a good shot but Talbot stops it. Leafs fans start a very loud "GO LEAFS GO" chant. Thanks boys.
Hey! The Oilers ripped off the Avalanche Mario sound effects! Good ol' Game Ops, copying things and running them into the ground.
The PP ends without a goal, and we head into intermission.
Oh good lord, they start talking about McDavid "pulling a Sittler on the Leafs" so I turn that off. See y'all in 15.
The second starts alright, pucks are moved, and then the Leafs take a penalty, so the Oilers to the PP. The Leafs have the 7th best road PK, so this should end well for the Leafs.
No Oilers goals after 1 minute, Taylor Hall breaks a stick, and someone shoot sit into the netting. Hall comes back madly, and smacks his broken stick with his new one...as punishment, I guess?
Lots of face offs in the Leafs zone, neither team can catch passes so the puck keeps getting iced.
The puck gets stuck at the boards and everyone is trying to kick it out, Leo ends up on the ground, so he's lying down trying to get at the puck with his hands, and the play is blown dead.
Oilers get a good shot, Bernier lets a rebound go straight out but Hunwick hustles it out of the path of an Oiler, who is ready to shoot. The puck is behind the Leafs net, both teams try to get it out, the puck slides to the faceoff dot, right to Eberle, who shoots and gets it in glove side, for goal #16.
Sniiiiiiiiipe! #TORvsEDM pic.twitter.com/GPaMJHkOxr
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2016
Post goal, Arcobello bumps Nurse into Bernier who goes down spectacularly, so Nurse gets 2. Back to the Leafs PP.
The Leafs are passing and shooting, but not much of quality. The puck goes over the glass and we get another face off.
PP ends without a goal, and the puck comes down to the Leafs end. It gets knocked down with a high stick, so the play is blown dead as Edmonton has a 2-1 in the Leafs end.
In the first period, the Leafs out shot Edmonton 13-4, 10 min into the second the Oilers have out shot the Leafs 9-2. Each period will be it's own game it seems.
Behind the play Nurse and Komarov go down, and Nurse is back to the box for holding. The Maple Leafs will get a man advantage for the third time this game.
Leafs PP is having a harder and harder time setting up shots this PP, the Oilers PK is getting a little better at taking away passing lanes and making the Leafs scramble.
Parenteau comes in with a slow shot which just rolls past Talbot.
Gryba gets called for holding, and the Leafs get yet another power play chance.
The Leafs are getting clearer shots from the point on this PP. Lots and lots of attempts coming this time, but the Oilers finally clear it and regroup. The PP ends and the Leafs are 0/4.
McDavid tries to drive the puck into the Leafs net from a bhind the net pass from Hall, but Bernier makes the save. Daniel WInnik is called for hooking on the play and the Oilers get their second PP with 2:30 to go in the second.
McDavid gets the puck above the blocker side face off circle, sends it down to Eberle who is at the bottom of the other circle and Eberle fires it into the net. 3-1 Oilers.
So we're digging this 9️⃣7️⃣ & 1️⃣4️⃣ combo, yes? #TORvsEDM pic.twitter.com/XcKT6kSiU4
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2016
Josh Leivo was slow off the ice earlier in the first and Mark Masters confirms it:
Josh Leivo won't return (upper body)
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 12, 2016
With just seconds left in the third period, Jake Gardiner comes into the Oilers end, he has Boyes and Holland causing a scene in front of the net and Jake is able to pot it, to bring the Leafs within one.
Intermission!
To open the third period, McDavid comes in alone, but Bernier gets the pad out and stops him.
The Leafs head into the Oilers zone, and Rielly makes a nice little between the legs drop pass to Parenteau, but Talbot makes the stop.
In the Leafs zone, Kassian gets nudged into Bernier, and he goes down taking out the Leafs goalie at the same time. Open net but the Leafs clear and the Oilers can't score.
McDavid with some nice moves, he avoids a Clune hit, making Clune hit Polak, who goes after McDavid, knocks him into the Leafs net and we get the play blow dead.
Parenteau gets called for unsportsmanlike conduct after chirping a ref and the Oilers will get their third PP of the game.
Polak tries to hit McDavid but again 97 avoids the hit and Polak hits the ice instead.
Clune heads into the Oilers end but can't get a shot off. After the stop is made, the Leafs and Oilers get called for matching minors, a hooking for the Leafs and embellishment for the Oilers.
The Leafs regroup behind the net as the Oilers PP ends. They come down fast into the Oilers end, get two great shots but nothing and the play is blown dead as the Oilers are call for and the Leafs get their fifth power play of the game.
Leafs are making good passes and chances on this PP, Rielly is set up well for a shot but his stick breaks and the Oilers dump it out.
The PP ends and the Leafs are now 0/5 on the night.
In the Leafs end McDavid is fed a pass as he's infront of Bernier and a quick snapshot makes it 4-2 Oilers.
Parenteau crosschecks into the boards and gets called for it right away. The Oilers have a chance to take the game out of reach.
Parenteau had recently been given 2 for ref chirping so they send him off for a 10 min misconduct and that's it for #15.
A minute is spent in the Leafs end and Hunwick tries to clear it, but it goes over the glass and the dumbest penalty in the NHL is given top Hunwick, so the Oilers get a 5 on 3 for 60 seconds.
The PP ends, no Oilers goal, and the Leafs will attempt to tie the game in the next two minutes.
Bernier comes out of the net with 90 seconds left, Leafs keep the puck i nthe Oilers end, but the Oilers get ut out. Eberle is desperately trying to keep hold of the puck despite Gardiner smacking him with his stick. Eberle gets the empty netter and the hats come raining down, as Jordan Eberle celebrates his first NHL hat trick.
The clean up happens and the next 30 seconds pass, the hoprn sounds and the Oilers celebrate their victory. Welcome to last place, Toronto.
McDavid has FIVE points tonight, Eberle gets his first hat trick, the Leafs, er, Maries, or whatever, played very well against the Oilers, so that goes to show what the Oilers rebuild model gives you after years of trying. It wasn't an awful game, but it could have been better.
The Maple Leafs next game is Saturday night vs the Vancouver Canucks.