Oilers Gameday – @ Toronto

The Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs play in different conferences, only meet twice a season, and have no rivalry to speak of. Yet, tonight is one of the most highly anticipated games of the season for both sides and one that has the fan bases riled up.

Yes, the Connor McDavid Vs. Auston Matthews storyline is compelling, but there’s more to it. Oiler fans are sick and tired about hearing how “McDavid will bolt to Toronto first chance” and “Matthews is better!” and “McDavid hates it in Edmonton”. A win tonight would feel oh so good for Oiler fans, wouldn’t it?

More importantly, tonight is a great chance for Edmonton to get back into the swing of things after Sunday’s setback, while Toronto is looking to get their defense and goaltending on the same page as their dynamic offense.

Cam Talbot is back in net tonight for the Oilers, while Frederick Andersen gets the nod for Toronto.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: A quick start is absolutely key for Edmonton tonight. The Oilers squandered numerous chances on Sunday night to jump on top of Ottawa early, and as a result they lost that hockey game. Against a Leafs team with a fragile goalie in net, getting chances and a goal early is massive. Do that and you’ll have a great chance at getting two points.

Toronto: The Leafs have enough talent to run and gun with the Oilers, but if they want to win this one they’ll need to play a structured game. Edmonton has the ability to limit the Leafs, but Toronto hasn’t proven they can limit a strong offense. Limiting McDavid, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and those guys to minimal chances will result in a win.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: A big pressure game, in his hometown, against the team he grew up idolizing. I don’t think there is a player on the Edmonton roster more primed for a big night than Connor McDavid. This kid thrives on the spotlight and he’ll be in it tonight. Very interested in seeing how he’ll handle this game.

Toronto: William Nylander, not Auston Matthews, won the Rookie of The Month award for October and leads the Leafs in scoring. Nylander is a very underrated young player who hasn’t gotten the attention that Mitch Marner and Matthews have. I’m really interested in seeing him up close tonight.

The Lines:

The Oilers will be looking for a spark tonight on the powerplay. Matthew Benning will draw in and make his NHL debut on the third pairing alongside Darnell Nurse, while Eric Gryba heads to the pressbox. Anton Slepyshev will also be a healthy scratch for the Oilers.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Zack Kassian

Patrick Maroon – Leon Draisaitl – Jesse Puljujarvi

Tyler Pitlick – Mark Letestu – Anton Lander

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Matthew Benning

Cam Talbot

Toronto Maple Leafs Lines:

Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander

James Van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner

Connor Brown – Nazem Kadri – Leo Komarov

Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov

Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev

Martin Marincin – Connor Carrick

Jake Gardiner – Roman Polak

Frederick Andersen

Game Notes:

The Oilers and Leafs split their two meetings last season, with the home team winning both games. Edmonton’s visit to Toronto, which occurred on November 30th a year ago, was a 1-0 Toronto win. I’m expecting a little more offense than that tonight.

Jordan Eberle recorded his first career hat trick last season against Toronto, and has scored 10-6-16 in ten games against the Leafs. Connor McDavid, in his one career game against Toronto, registered five points (2-3-5) one season ago. As mentioned above, this will be his first meeting with his childhood team in his hometown.

Prediction:

The Edmonton Oilers are a better hockey team than the Toronto Maple Leafs and they are playing better hockey right now. The Leafs are a young team trying to adjust to the NHL, while the Oilers are trying to take that next step as a franchise. I think that difference is apparent tonight.

I’ll say the Oilers win this one 5-2, with goals from McDavid (twice), Pouliot, Puljujarvi and Lander. Toronto gets on the board via Nylander and Marincin, because that’s bound to happen.