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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – When the Toronto Maple Leafs needed a big win, they got one big-time performance from veteran centre Nazem Kadri.

Matched up against the Edmonton Oilers’ top centre Connor McDavid on Tuesday, Kadri had his best game of the season. He registered two goals, including the overtime game-winner where he outworked McDavid all the way to a 3-2 Maple Leafs win.

“I don’t want people coming in here thinking it’s easy to play against the Leafs,” Kadri said. “Part of the identity we’re trying to create here is being hard to play against. I’m not here just to be a role player. I want to help this team win and I want to do everything I can to help these guys win.”

Having dropped their last two games on the road, Toronto limped home searching for its third win of the season. McDavid entered the night leading the NHL in points with an Oilers team that was red hot. Kadri got Toronto on the board 89 seconds into the game, burying a feed from rookie Connor Brown across Cam Talbot’s crease. Brown is a new addition to Kadri’s line with Leo Komarov, and while it took some time for them to gel, they finally found a groove going up against the Oilers’ best.

“I enjoy playing against the top players, I enjoy the challenge,” Kadri said. “I’m a pretty competitive person so I don’t want to come out of the wrong end of that matchup. I’m going to do everything I can to do my job...and in doing that help these kids pave the road and set a good example and do things right and show them what it takes to be a professional.”

One kid in particular – Auston Matthews – was the one generating headlines over his first professional meeting against McDavid. Matthews fired six shots on goal, but failed to tally a point for the fourth straight game. In the end he was all smiles over Kadri’s exciting finish.

“[Kadri] was awesome out there. He was definitely probably our best player,” Matthews said. “He was creating havoc, making it tough on that big line so a lot of credit goes to him and Leo and Brownie.”

For the first time in his Maple Leafs career, Kadri has taken a backseat to up-and-coming players like Matthews. Tuesday was an example of how he can find that happy medium as both a checking centre and offensive contributor.

“I like to score goals too, I think to put up points,” Kadri said. “My responsibility is to try and shut down [these players] and make them not want to play here. I was able to get a couple bounces and it’s nice to get one early as a skill player. It’s about finding that balance.”

Head coach Mike Babcock pointed to how much McDavid played in the first period alone – 8:07 – which gave Kadri an edge with fresher legs as the game wore on. Knowing the spotlight would follow McDavid and whoever went up against him, Kadri seized the moment and put himself back in the limelight.

“You don’t want [McDavid] to walk all over you and he’s certainly a player who’s capable of doing that,” Kadri said. “He can embarrass you when he gets time and space so I just tried to limit that from him and just stay on top of him as much as I could.”


Takeaways

  • Toronto’s penalty kill went 2-for-2 against Edmonton. That unit was a source of momentum for the team at the start of the season and while it has faltered in recent games, Tuesday was a solid rebound performance.
  • How Matthews would fare going up against McDavid was all the talk before puck drop, but the two saw only a few shifts at the same on Tuesday. Matthews, William Nylander and Zach Hyman were fine in the first two periods but dominated the third. They generated a multitude of chances, but simply couldn’t get any behind Talbot. In all three of the Maple Leafs' wins this season, that trio – with a combined 23 points so far – has failed to get on the score sheet. “You’re always going to run into games like this where you create and create and they just don’t go in,” Matthews said. “It’s all positive, when you’re creating that many chances, some of them are bound to go in.”
  • The Maple Leafs gave up 46 shots to the Oilers, requiring an incredible game from Frederik Andersen. The netminder made 44 saves, while the two goals were ones he would like back. On the first, Andersen went to play the puck behind his net and got his signals crossed with Jake Gardiner, preventing him from getting back to stop Anton Lander’s easy goal. On the second score, by Darnell Nurse in the third, Andersen had his glove up but the puck went off it and in. Overall though, Andersen was, as Matthews described, “a brick wall,” and kept the Oilers at bay. “[That start] was probably up there, not that many good games so far,” Andersen said. “I’m starting to feel really good in net and last few games have been really good.”
  • Nikita Soshnikov made quite the return to the Maple Leafs lineup after being recalled from the Toronto Marlies. He started the season in the American Hockey League after battling a hamstring injury in the offseason but got up to speed with the Maple Leafs quickly. He was flying on the ice, showing off the great speed he debuted with in the NHL last season. Soshnikov set up Ben Smith’s first goal of the season with a patient tape-to-tape pass early in the second. He continued to battle behind the net on the next shift, getting pucks out in front to set up more chances. Soshnikov, who finished with one assist and three shots on goal, said he felt good about his first game back – and Babcock agreed. “I thought he was great. He was greasy, pisses [guys] off, winds our team up a little bit,” Babcock said. “I thought he was real good.”
  • With an assist on Smith’s goal, Matt Martin recorded his first point with the Maple Leafs. He had one of his best games overall in Toronto. The addition of Soshnikov and his speed seemed to put a jump in Martin’s step, and allowed him to buzz around the net more than usual. His five hits tied the team-high.
  • Nikita Zaitsev continues to be the Maple Leafs’ best overall defender. He does many things well, but perhaps most importantly he doesn’t make many mistakes with the puck. He’s patient, and makes small, positive plays that advance the puck without risking it. He and Morgan Rielly shut down McDavid throughout Tuesday’s game, keeping the speedy centre to the outside, forcing him to turn back and never giving up much room in front of the net. Later in the third he made a great stick-check on McDavid to send play back the other way. He finished the game with five hits and three shots on goal.