TORONTO (AP) Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr traveled to see a hyped first matchup between Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. They got a show from Nazem Kadri instead.
Kadri got his second goal of the game in overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Matthews and McDavid were scoreless in the first showdown of the last two No. 1 overall picks. McDavid, from nearby Richmond Hill, Ontario, played his first NHL game in Toronto, and the game had enough hype to bring in legends Gretzky and Orr to watch.
Kadri claimed he missed all the buildup.
”To be honest with you I don’t know what people were talking about before the game,” he said. ”I was just focused on my matchup and my assignment and just doing whatever I can to help the team win.”
Kadri won it on the first shift of overtime, eluding McDavid’s pursuit before beating Cam Talbot. The Leafs’ 26-year-old top line center has five goals in 10 games. He needed 27 games and almost two months (Dec. 5) to get there last season.
His line also managed to hold McDavid off the scoreboard.
”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,” Kadri said.
”He’s a good player,” McDavid said of Kadri. ”He played me hard. Good for him.”
Frederik Andersen had 44 saves for Toronto and Ben Smith also scored. The Leafs have won three of four games at home this season.
Edmonton has dropped two in a row for the first time this season. Anton Lander and Darnell Nurse scored and Talbot stopped 28 shots.
McDavid’s line was burned for the first goal of the game 89 seconds into the first period, with Kadri striking for an early lead.
After hitting a pair of posts, the Oilers got on the board with 31 seconds left in the first. The action was driven by 25-year-old fourth line fireplug Tyler Pitlick, who stole the puck behind the Toronto goal and found Lander open in front.
McDavid had his chances, rushing down the right side at one point and then flipping a backhand attempt on Andersen. McDavid had four shots on goal in nearly 23 minutes.
Leafs coach Mike Babcock was surprised at how much Oilers coach Todd McLellan, his former assistant in Detroit, used McDavid. The Leafs coach thought McDavid wore down as the night wore on.
”I was never expecting the guy to play that much,” Babcock said. ”He’s a good player and all that, but so is (Ryan) Nugent-Hopkins.”
Matthews, meanwhile, generated some opportunities after a quiet first period, including a few good looks on setups from NHL rookie of the month for October William Nylander. Matthews finished with six shots.
Smith put the Leafs in front 2-1 early into the second frame. Nurse lost sight of Smith as he crashed the net.
Nurse beat Anderson high glove side for a goal near the midway point of the third period that tied it 2-2.
NOTES: McDavid and Matthews saw the ice against one another only sparingly over two periods, though more so in the final frame. Matthews, the first overall pick one year after McDavid, described the meeting as ”just another game” on Tuesday morning.
UP NEXT
Oilers: Play at the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
Maple Leafs: Play at the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday night.
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