Mike Babcock didn’t sugarcoat what he saw Saturday night. After Edmonton was buried 7-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the coach made it clear he viewed the performance as a regression, not something he could excuse away as a bad bounce or a hot night from the other side.
“For me to get all wound up here... I already stood there... in your own building on Saturday night; that should be automatic. Should never get outworked.”
That was the core of Babcock’s frustration: the Oilers didn’t match Toronto’s pace, desperation, or edge. He gave the Maple Leafs their due and put the burden squarely on his own team.
“The bottom line is they were better. They were better than us.
So we can blame anybody we want... Jim Hiller had a group playing harder, and I had my group...
That's on me. “
Edmonton did have a few bright spots, but they came in a game that was already slipping away. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard were in the starting lineup, and Draisaitl finished with two goals while McDavid and Bouchard each picked up two assists.
That was about the extent of the positives.
Tristan Jarry made the start in goal, a scheduled appearance despite Devon Levi’s injury. He gave up six goals, including one into an empty net, though the rest of the Oilers did little to help settle the game down in front of him. The bigger concern, at least from the way the night played out, is that Edmonton now has no injury update on Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen is not close to being ready to return.
Toronto pushed the pace early and had Edmonton chasing most of the night. The crowd got into it too, with the Toronto fans in the building outshouting the shrinking group of Oilers supporters. There were a few scrappy moments and a Connor Murphy tilt, but not enough sustained pushback to change the tone.
The shot totals were close. The scoreboard was not.
Edmonton’s structure broke down in the second period, starting with a rough Jake Walman change that opened the door to a two-on-one. Easton Cowan finished the sequence by setting up Auston Matthews for Toronto’s 2-0 lead, and Troy Stecher made it 3-0 soon after. Toronto’s speed and Edmonton’s issues in its top-end coverage stood out immediately.
Leon Draisaitl stopped the shutout late in the second, scoring on a McDavid feed during 4-on-4 play. Evan Bouchard provided the screen, and Draisaitl sent a floater through traffic past Anthony Stolarz. But any lift from that goal disappeared quickly when William Nylander answered on the power play to make it 4-1.
Draisaitl struck again to pull Edmonton to 5-2, but by then the result was long gone. With 2:19 left, the Oilers pulled Jarry, and Nylander scored into the empty net 15 seconds later. Vinni Lettieri added one more with 30.7 seconds remaining to make it 7-2.
This was not a game Edmonton ever truly threatened to take back. After Thursday’s late comeback against the Hurricanes, Babcock said he expected his team to carry that energy into Saturday. Instead, he got the opposite.
“They're a really good team. I thought they were ultra-competitive.
I thought they took over at times, and my hope for today was that we were going to match that level of competition and then raise it. We didn't do any of that, so that's a step back.”
The coach had liked what he saw against Carolina. Against Toronto, he saw no carryover at all.
In Other News...
Oilers Suddenly Have Questions Their Record Was Hiding
The record still looked shiny, but the performance in Toronto did not. Edmonton was hammered 7-2 by the Maple Leafs, taking its second regulation loss of the season and exposing some early cracks in a start that had largely masked those issues. Leon Draisaitl scored twice to keep the Oilers from being completely swallowed up, but the night also featured goals from former Oilers Jack Roslovic and Troy Stecher, a reminder of how quickly a game can tilt when the margins are thin.
The bigger concern was how little resistance Edmonton offered in its own end, especially with defensive breakdowns piling up and certain line combinations struggling to find their footing. Tristan Jarry had a rough night in net as Toronto kept finding space and finishing chances, leaving the Oilers with more questions than answers as they try to sort out whether this was just one bad result or the first clear sign that their early success needs a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Former Oiler Jack Roslovic Is Suddenly Becoming A Problem In Toronto
Jack Roslovic did not linger long in Edmonton, but his next stop has quickly turned him into a nuisance for the Oilers' fan base from afar. Since landing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the former Oiler has piled up 10 points in 12 games, a sharp enough burst to make his early run in Toronto look like more than a hot streak. Roslovic has also pointed back to his time with Edmonton as part of the reason his approach has sharpened, crediting what he learned there with helping him settle into a better daily standard.
For Edmonton, the bigger picture only gets more complicated because Connor McDavid keeps operating at another level entirely, sitting on 31 points in 10 games and threatening one of those seasons that gets talked about for years. And while Roslovic's form in Toronto is the immediate sting, the broader conversation around player movement is also getting louder, with some NHL players privately believing teams should have more control when trade requests enter the picture. It is the kind of debate that only gets louder when a former Oiler starts producing for a rival and reminding everyone how thin the line can be between a departure and a regret. [Read more 🡒]
Why This Years Heritage Classic Still Matters To Oilers Fans
The Heritage Classic is coming back on Sunday, Oct. 25, and this time it will be the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens taking the spotlight at Princess Auto Stadium. For Edmonton fans, the matchup still carries a familiar pull even without the Oilers on the bill, because these outdoor showcases have become part of the leagues fall rhythm and a reminder of how often this franchise has been asked to step into that stage.
Edmonton has played in the Heritage Classic three times before and went 2-1-0 in those games, so there is real history there even in a year when the club is staying home. With the Jets and Canadiens set to handle this latest edition, the focus shifts away from Oilers nostalgia and toward how another Canadian outdoor night fits into a season that has already featured plenty of movement and comparison across the league. [Read more 🡒]