Maple Leafs report cards: Leafs sink in an inexcusable, low-effort loss to the Oilers

That was a disaster.

The Leafs decided to make Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty feel more comfortable by playing like the Chicago Blackhawks. Connor McDavid scored two goals and added an assist in the first period alone, and the Oilers added two more in the second to allow plenty of Leafs fans to get to bed early. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl looked like the two best players by a mile, and other than Mitch Marner, Toronto’s top six failed to show up. The pair of Morgan Rielly and Justin Holl simply didn’t work, and Mattias Ekholm had no problem shutting down Toronto’s top forwards in his Oilers debut.

Let’s skip the three stars and get to the grades.

Player reportsA-

Mitch Marner

Marner racked up three primary assists against Seattle and picked up where he left off in the first. Cody Ceci and the Oilers thought there was a delayed offside, and Marner made them pay by taking the puck away and setting up Kämpf for Toronto’s first goal twelve minutes in. He picked up his second point on an early third-period power play, ripping a wrist shot past a screened Skinner:

B+

The shutdown pair (Jake McCabe and T.J. Brodie)

McCabe switched from No. 2 to 22 ahead of his debut and showed off his transition defence on the first shift of the game. However, he took a slashing penalty on his second shift, and Edmonton’s outstanding power play took full advantage. He blocked a shot in the slot 11 minutes in but looked a little bit nervous moving the puck, perhaps because he’s not familiar with his team’s breakout. He wasn’t on for a goal against.

Brodie was one of Toronto’s best players in the first, even though he had a great view of McDavid’s first goal. He shut down a McDavid rush seven minutes in, then later created a takeaway that led to an extended sequence of offensive-zone time. He was on for Kostin’s goal as well but looked like his usual self for the most part.

B-

Noel Acciari

Acciari got off to a great start, picking the pocket of Draisaitl seven minutes in before setting up Calle Järnkrok for a decent chance. He created another takeaway a few minutes later that once again led to a chance, then provided a screen in front on a shot from Lafferty. However, there was one blemish on his first-period performance, as he lost a defensive-zone faceoff ahead of Edmonton’s third goal. The Leafs lost his minutes by expected goals, though it wasn’t all his fault.

Sam Lafferty

Lafferty’s Leafs debut didn’t get off to a great start, as he coughed up the puck a couple of times ahead of McDavid’s second goal. However, Ilya Samsonov probably should have stopped it, and Lafferty had a half-decent chance toward the end of the first. He nearly set up Zach Aston-Reese for an A+ chance halfway through the second, but couldn’t quite deliver an A+ saucer pass. He took a tripping penalty against McDavid two minutes into the third, then just missed setting up Ryan O’Reilly off a rush when he joined his line in the third. His speed looks dangerous off the rush, and I’m interested to see how he plays with O’Reilly going forward.

C

The third line (Alex Kerfoot, David Kämpf and Calle Järnkrok)

Kämpf opened the scoring for Toronto 12 minutes into the first, as Marner found him alone in the slot:

However, the Leafs owned just 16 percent of the five-on-five expected goals when he was on the ice. His numbers away from Pierre Engvall have been terrible, and we’re about to see if he can have success away from him. Kerfoot made a nice pass to set up Holl in the mid-second, but this line failed to create much of anything. Järnkrok simply hasn’t performed well in the bottom six, as he hasn’t scored in nine games.

Ryan O’Reilly

O’Reilly was coming off back-to-back games with no points and was completely invisible in the first half. He was on the ice when the Leafs got caved in ahead of Edmonton’s third goal, and he coughed up the puck in the neutral zone at the end of the first. He joined Kerfoot and Lafferty in the third, and the unit created a couple of half-decent chances. While the Oilers didn’t create many chances when he was on the ice, the Leafs need more from him offensively.

The third pair (Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren)

Liljegren has an A+ chance in the slot six minutes, but the Leafs were ultimately caved in during their minutes in the first half. Liljgren was caught flat-footed following a Leafs turnover, and McDavid crossed him over ahead of his second goal. He was then outworked by Zach Hyman to start the second. Giordano finished with six shots on goal, but the Leafs failed to generate many high-danger chances when he was on. Liljegren left the game briefly in the third but returned for a final shift.

D+

Ilya Samsonov

McDavid beat Samsonov on the power play on Edmonton’s fifth shot, as a rebound went right to the Oilers captain in front:

He made a great save on Devin Shore on Edmonton’s next shot, but McDavid beat him again with six minutes left in the second:

Four minutes later, former Leaf Zach Hyman got another past him:

He played quite well in the second and made a couple of impressive saves to try to keep his team in the game. However, the Oilers scored twice, with the first coming off a deflection from Kailer Yamamoto:

He was hung out to dry again at the end of the period, and Klim Kostin made no mistake:

Samsonov was beaten for a sixth time in the final seconds of the second, but the goal was waived back due to an interference penalty:

He almost gave up a sixth four minutes into the third but was bailed out when an official blew the whistle when the puck was loose. While he did make some impressive saves, it’s tough to give him a strong grade when he gave up five goals and was bailed out on another two.

John Tavares

Tavares entered play with three goals in his last four games but was awfully quiet in the first two periods. He went to the net and tried to put home a puck on the goal line halfway through the second, but it’s safe to say his line struggled immensely. He provided a great screen in front ahead of Marner’s power-play goal to start the third and was moved back to centre.

Michael Bunting

Bunting had a turnover on the power play in the first, but immediately got the puck back and set up Liljegren for a great chance. He was shut down otherwise, as his line struggled to establish any offensive zone time. The Leafs need more from him.

D

The second pair (Morgan Rielly and Justin Holl)

Sheldon Keefe paired them together following the McCabe trade, and let’s just say Samsonov was quite busy when they were on. Draisaitl made Rielly look foolish on a rush to start the second, and Rielly was covering Yamamoto ahead of his goal off a deflection. Holl stood out with a couple of big hits and a fight, but he simply didn’t seem to work well for Rielly. They were on for two goals against at five-on-five.

F

Auston Matthews

Matthews was awfully quiet in the first half, other than when he set up McCabe for a half-decent chance to end the first. He was gifted a secondary assist in the third, but his line was caved in, and players like Ekholm and Darnell Nurse shut him down completely. By his standards, this was an “F” performance.

William Nylander

Nylander was on for three goals against and took two penalties. His seven-game point streak was snapped, and he finished with just one shot on goal. His line was so ineffective that O’Reilly was moved down the lineup in the third.

MIA

Zach Aston-Reese

He failed to record a shot on goal in just over nine minutes of ice time and hasn’t picked up a point in 10 games. As usual, he wasn’t on for a goal against but didn’t contribute much.

Game Score

Final grade: F

That was terrible.

No Leafs player won their minutes in terms of five-on-five expected goals through the first two periods, and they fully deserved to be down 5-1 heading into the break. The O’Reilly line was so ineffective that Keefe broke them up, and Matthews certainly didn’t look like himself. Samsonov looked like Petr Mrazek, and I expected a better effort from the team after their general manager made several key additions this week. Marner was the only member of the top six who decided to show up, and Toronto’s bottom six still looks mediocre offensively.

Perhaps the additions of Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson will give this team another spark, but there’s no excuse for Toronto’s effort tonight following a series of big trades. Keefe will need to find the right line combinations and defence pairs going forward, but all he learned from this matchup was what doesn’t work. The Leafs were fortunate that the Oilers only won by three.

What’s next for the Leafs?

Heading across Alberta to take on the Calgary Flames on Thursday at 9 p.m. on TSN.

(Top photo: Perry Nelson / USA Today)