The Toronto Maple Leafs (14-12-5) hosted the Edmonton Oilers (15-11-6) on Saturday (Dec. 13) in an all-Canadian matchup on Hockey Night in Canada. The Oilers dominated this one en route to a commanding 6-3 win. Here’s your game recap.
Game Recap
Connor McDavid opened the scoring for Edmonton on a highlight-reel beauty 3:25 into the first period. He received Evan Bouchard’s pass through the neutral zone with speed, beat the defenders, and out-waited goaltender Dennis Hildeby before tucking the puck past the sprawling netminder.
Then, the Maple Leafs tied the game 16:03 into the opening frame. Off the rush, Scott Laughton threw the backhand on the net, and Easton Cowan banged home the rebound past goaltender Tristan Jarry for his fourth goal of the season. That entertaining first period concluded tied at one, with the Oilers holding a slim 12-10 shot advantage.
Related: Projected Lineups for Oilers vs Maple Leafs – 12/13/25
The home team took a 2-1 lead 4:54 into the middle frame. Toronto won multiple battles in the offensive zone, which resulted in a few quality chances. Jarry stopped the first high-danger chance, but Matthew Knies retrieved the puck and found Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who ripped the one-timer past the goaltender.
However, McDavid added his second of the contest to tie the game at two 10:29 into the second period. He drove hard to the blue paint and defenceman Troy Stecher shot the puck into his own net trying to clear it. Then, the visitors took the lead with 31 seconds remaining in the period. Edmonton entered the zone with speed and Leon Draisaitl found Darnell Nurse with a cross-seem pass, and he ripped the one-timer past Hildeby. The Oilers had a 13-12 shot advantage in the period, and 25-22 overall.
The Oilers took a 4-2 lead early in the third period. Draisaitl threw the puck on the net, and Vasily Podkolzin tipped it past the netminder for his seventh of the season. Then, shortly after, Podkolzin added his second of the game off Draisaitl’s centring pass in tight. The road team continued to pour it on midway through the final frame. Edmonton created chaos in front of the net, and Zach Hyman chipped the puck past Hildeby, resulting in a goalie change as Artur Akhtyamov took over in the crease.
Steven Lorentz added a goal to make it 6-3 courtesy of a one-timer set up by Jake McCabe with 48 seconds remaining in the period. Jarry stopped 25 of 28 shots for an .893 save percentage (SV%) in his Oilers debut. Meanwhile, Hildeby stopped 27 of 32 shots for an .844 SV% in the loss, while Akhtyamov stopped all five shots he faced in relief.
The Oilers continue their five-game road trip on Sunday (Dec. 14) against the Montreal Canadiens in the second half of a back-to-back. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs conclude their five-game home stand on Tuesday (Dec. 16) against the Chicago Blackhawks. These two teams conclude their two-game season series on Feb. 3 in Edmonton, right before the Olympic break. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
