Maple Leafs make it a sweep against McDavid and Oilers

Article content

The series was billed as a first-place showdown with the Maple Leafs, but ended with the Oilers shut down.

In the course of three well-deserved wins, using a trio of different goalies, four flying forward lines and a dominating defence, Toronto left a row of long faces on the Edmonton bench, Connor McDavid’s the most painful.

Wednesday’s 6-1 rout at Rogers Place capped a 13-1 total bill and improved the Leafs’ NHL-best slate to 18-4-2. After a hot February, the Oilers gave up second place in the North Division to Winnipeg while they were being swept.

“A lot of really good things come out of this series for us,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “We feel pretty good, how we handled leads, how we built leads. We knew coming in we were playing a team hotter than any other in the NHL and to get results like this was a healthy sign. But as much as we’d like to sit and enjoy it, we’re on the plane now and off to Vancouver.”

While the Leafs have a pair against the Canucks on Thursday and Saturday, league-leading point-getter McDavid was pondering just the third time in his career he’s gone three games without a goal or assist. Fellow front-runner Leon Draisaitl avoided that fate with an assist on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second period goal that ended Toronto’s shutout streak at 148 minutes.

Article content

By then, the Leafs had broken it wide open with three goals in a span of just more than four minutes. Jimmy Vesey had two as the fourth line stepped up, William Nylander, John Tavares, Zach Hyman and Ilya Mikheyev piling on goals. The multi-point players included Jason Spezza with three helpers and they didn’t need Auston Matthews, who was held pointless, in his return from a wrist injury, though he had no apparent troubles shooting or taking faceoffs.

“I think we’re building a really strong bond here as a group,” said Spezza, whose points spurt is moving him on the verge of the top 100 in NHL history. “We’re pushing each other and when you see the standard raised, you want to make sure you’re reaching it.”

Spezza conceded a little bit of luck is needed to hold two such prominent scorers to one point in three games, but that it reflects a commitment to team defence everyone realized was needed after last year’s playoffs.

Goalie Mike Smith had been a big part of the Oilers’ run, but he had to track too many buzzing Leafs. He was most irked by Hyman getting close to his crease, while the ‘Zip Line’ of Hyman, Mikheyev and Pierre Engvall helped keep the Oilers smothered. Hyman and John Tavares had power-play goals.

“Skating a lot, being physical,” Engvall said before the game on what’s worked for their unit against McDavid and Draisaitl. “When we lose the puck, we work really hard to not give them something.”

The Leafs had been prone to early pressure by the Oilers and only a combination of luck and Frederik Andersen’s goaltending stopped the Oilers from striking first on five early shots in the opening shifts.

Article content

But it was fourth-liner Vesey who wound up with the first period’s only goal. With Alex Kerfoot keeping the puck deep to allow the line change, Travis Boyd and Spezza worked the puck to set up Vesey’s first goal since Jan. 22.

While the notion of silencing both McDavid and Draisaitl seemed far-fetched at the start of the series, the Leafs were going for the hat trick.

“The goaltending we’ve had has been really solid, that’s first and foremost,” said defenceman Jake Muzzin, who with partner Justin Holl saw a lot of Edmonton’s top forwards the past three games. “And we’ve done a pretty good job taking away time and space and to clog up the middle and force them to the outside.”

Keefe added that in no way are the Leafs resting on their laurels, stressing areas of the game that still need cleaning up during a Wednesday morning meeting.

Andersen’s record is now 15-1-2 in his career against the Oilers. Michael Hutchinson backed him while Jack Campbell could the start on Thursday in Vancouver.

With such a huge lead on Wednesday, Keefe didn’t have to over-tax the Matthews line with Mitch Marner and Joe Thornton and played Vesey and the bottom six down the stretch. A couple of healthy scratches might also play Thursday.

lhornby@postmedia.com