Bouchard's Lone Strike Sends Oilers Out of Toronto 1-0
The Edmonton Oilers won a one-goal game that should not have been this close. They had the better chances all night, and the frame of the net kept the scoreboard tight.
Measured by expected goals (how many goals a team's chances were worth), Edmonton out-chanced Toronto 2.76 to 1.72. They also had more shot attempts and outshot the Leafs 23-19. Evan Bouchard scored the only goal, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl assisting.
The real story is the metal. The Oilers rang the iron again and again, with McDavid hitting it twice. Those two near-misses alone were worth 1.37 goals, more than any shot that actually beat Anthony Stolarz, who made 22 saves. Trent Frederic also hit iron. Across the night there were four iron shots in all: three posts and one crossbar.
Toronto had looks too. John Tavares and Auston Matthews each got good chances, and William Nylander hit iron as well, but nobody finished. For a Maple Leafs team now 8-11-2, the bounces never came.
