Neither series is over, but following a Game 4 disaster and infighting among the Toronto Maple Leafs’s top stars, it’s going to be next to impossible for the Leafs to fight back in their series with the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are up 2-1 in their series on the Los Angeles Kings with Game 4 on Sunday night and a chance to take a 3-1 series lead. Likely long before either game, comparisons between the Leafs’ elite and the Oilers’ top stars probably should have stopped. However, these two series should wake anyone clinging to hope that Toronto’s stars were anywhere close.
With two points and questions about his effort level, Mitch Marner appears to be enemy No. 1 in Toronto. Meanwhile, Auston Matthews ranks 61st in playoff scoring. William Nylander finally returned to the lineup after missing three games and Leafs Nation wants to know what’s going on with all three. John Tavares has stayed quiet and seems to have escaped criticism, but his one point isn’t helping matters.
Meanwhile, Connor McDavid leads the NHL in playoff points, Zach Hyman leads the league in playoff goals, and Leon Draisaitl ranks third in points and is tied for third in goals with three. Nugent-Hopkins remains the quiet assassin with a goal and three assists.
These playoffs are a small sample size, but the debate was never close. At least now it’s finally over. The Leafs need to make changes. The Oilers don’t.
The Leafs Are Falling Apart… Again
Saturday’s game only hammered home the point that this Leafs team has the wrong mix. The cast of forwards has elite talent, but their frustrations boiled over in an ugly loss where questions about motivation, effort level, and commitment were the talk of the fan base and Toronto media. A strong regular season team can’t seem to find another gear and this season was potentially the final straw. It’s the same story, year after year.
Big deals for Matthews and Nylander have only tied the Leafs to the core of the group. Tavares and Marner aren’t going to leave quietly because of their no-move clauses and the accent pieces new GM Brad Treliving picked up are arguably more of the same type of players the team already had.
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When the core four was asked to take the next step, the hope was that Saturday’s showing wasn’t the result. If it is, change is coming. Granted, Matthews is ill and Nylander has missed time, but the bickering on the bench either means this group finally cares and is holding each other accountable, or things have gone too far the other way. In either case, it might be too late.
The Oilers’ Core Is Clicking
In Edmonton, McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Hyman are finding another level. For most, thinking another level was possible didn’t seem realistic considering the numbers these top stars had put up in the past. To the Oilers core, this was the year to do what needed to be done. The team is deep, but more than that, the leadership is motivated.
One bad game — a Game 2 versus the Kings where the Oilers weren’t even that bad, they just weren’t as good — was the catalyst the team needed to come into in Game 3 with a point to prove. They needed a win on LA’s home ice and they got one. Not only that, they took it to the Kings, staying calm and collected as the Kings tried to run the Oilers out of the building physically. When the Kings got nasty, the Oilers did too, when necessary. Otherwise, they just let Los Angeles unravel. It was a sign of maturity that this Oilers’ group now has after a couple of seasons of getting close but missing out.
Edmonton has a long way to go, but rankings and predictions list this Oilers team as a favorite.
The Numbers Speak for Themselves
Even if we’re not talking about intangibles, the numbers heavily favor the Oilers. Hyman has almost as many goals by himself in these playoffs as the entire Leafs’ roster — Matthews and Marner have been largely invisible. McDavid and Draisiatl are breaking records and setting impressive milestones. The team has score more goals than anyone with 17 in three games.
And, the regular season was another story too.
Matthews was the top goal scorer with 69 in the season but fell short of points to McDavid’s 132 (McDavid scored 64 a year ago). Draisailt had 106 points to Nylander’s 98. It’s been several seasons now that Draisaitl has outproduced him. Nugent-Hopkins outscored John Tavares (he did so last season too), while Marner’s 85 scooted past Hyman’s 77.
The biggest numbers that matter might be salary. The Leafs’ core four is being paid $40.44 million per season. Starting next year, it will jump to over $45 million. The Oilers’ core four (McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hyman) make a combined $31.625 million. Knowing that won’t last forever, Edmonton’s leadership group is pushing now.