The Rusty Maple Leafs sneak past the understaffed Oilers on another quiet night on the local ice

It wasn’t pretty. It probably shouldn’t have been close.

But Ilya Mikheyev’s power play goal with 8:35 left in the third period and Alex Kerfoot’s empty net saved the Maple Leafs from what could have been an embarrassing result, leading Toronto to a 4-4 win. 2 on Wednesday over the COVID-ravaged Edmonton Oilers.

Mikheyev’s winning goal was his third goal in two games.

John Tavares and TJ Brodie scored for the Maple Leafs while Brendan Perlini and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers. Those four goals came in the first half that at least prepared the drama of who would score next.

Yes, the game got off to a bit of an ugly start, with choppy plays and both teams looking to get out of sync for long stretches. One team, the Maple Leafs, is still showing signs of rust after that long hiatus. The other, the Oilers, plays with the taxi squad and minor players as several key regulars recover.

But he had his moments with the game at stake. Mitch Marner hit a pole. Jack Campbell with a great save over Slater Koekkoek. Auston Matthews just missed the only time. Mike Smith arresting William Nylander in a getaway.

There were times when it was perhaps a good thing that fans weren’t there to watch the game where they would have had plenty of opportunities to vent their frustrations.

Still, they would have gone home happy, as the Leafs are now winners of four games in a row, two of them against the Oilers.

Big shock: It was a meeting of two teams that went in different directions, both in the classification and with the COVID protocols.

The Leafs had no one on protocol, surviving their latest scare when Matthews was cleared in time for the game. The Leafs had won three in a row and came on a 7-2-1 streak interrupted by the Christmas-COVID protocol hiatus. The Oilers, in a 2-8-2 knockdown before the game, did not have Connor McDavid, Tyson Barrie and Derek Ryan on protocol, or the injured Ryan Nugent Hopkins. Still, the Leafs didn’t want to take anything for granted.

“We have great respect for the Oilers and how they play and the talent that they have,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I think that’s a big part of why we’ve been successful against them, frankly. We respect them a lot and our guys continue to be focused and really prepared and execute at a high level against them … And, for me, (the Oilers) have been playing better hockey than the results they have achieved. “

The Leafs beat the Oilers the last time the two teams met, 5-1, in Edmonton. But this game was not the laugh one became.

All tied: The Leafs scored first, the Oilers gaining a 2-1 lead in the middle of the first before the Leafs tied after 20 minutes in a first period that left a lot to be desired in terms of style.

Tavares hit the puck for 13th of the year after Nylander’s shot bounced hopefully. The shot bounced off the back boards and then off Mike Smith’s skateboard with Tavares standing there seeking a 1-0 lead for Toronto at 4:25.

It was the kind of bad luck that has been typical of the Oilers’ luck lately. They have been particularly unfortunate in conceding the first goal. It was the 21st time in the last 25 games that the Oilers’ opposition scored first.

But the Leafs, who dominated the first half of the period, took their foot off the gas. Goals from Perlini and Draisaitl 1:14 apart gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead. Nick Ritchie, in his first game back after being a healthy scratch for the first time as Leaf, lost to Perlini in the race, allowing him to pass at 9:58. And the Leafs front row, plus Morgan Rielly, looked particularly unprepared when Kailer Yamamoto passed a Draisaitl open at 11:12.

That seemed to rouse the Leafs from their stalemate, with the Leafs taking the play the other way, culminating in Brodie’s slap shot hitting Evan Boucher with 26 seconds left in the period.

There was no goal in the second period, which had a little more advantage if only because both teams displayed their power games.

Until next time: The Leafs were supposed to be in Montreal tonight, but that game was postponed. Instead, they will head to Colorado to begin a four-game trip through Las Vegas, Arizona and St. Louis. Some time in the sun, some time in front of fans, and some time to participate in a series of games.

That’s after two home games against an empty Scotiabank Arena, part of the restrictions imposed by the government in the face of the current wave of the pandemic. “Maybe some of these away games feel like home games and we can regain that enthusiasm. But I hope it won’t be long without fans here because they honestly make a big difference and it’s not the same without them. “

The Leafs’ next home game has been postponed. They were due to play New Jersey on January 17. The league has been putting off the Leafs’ home games for later in the season in hopes that fans will be back in the stands by then.

Sheet list: Jake Muzzin played his first match outside of COVID protocol… Timothy Liljegren remained offside, although he took the morning skating… Ondrej Kaše (undisclosed) was eliminated… Assistant coach Dean Chynoweth was behind the bench after getting two tests of Negative PCR after what turned out to be a rapid false positive antigen test on Monday.