Edmonton Oilers (9-7-1) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-6-2)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena
TV: Sportsnet, CBC Radio: TSN 1050
Odds: Oilers +125, Maple Leafs -150
The buzz
The Oilers have won three in a row — including their past two in overtime — and five of their past seven as they begin a three-game trip … Of Connor McDavid’s 1,001 points in the National Hockey League, 35 have come against the Leafs in 23 games. The Richmond Hill native has 11 goals and 24 assists versus the Leafs … After going the first 10 games without a goal, ex-Leafs winger Zach Hyman had three in four games. He has not scored, though, in his past three games. This after Hyman scored 54 goals in 2023-24 … Mitch Marner needs one goal for 200 in his NHL career … Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz is one victory shy of 50 in the NHL … For all the talk of the Leafs’ struggling power play — it’s doing better now — the Oilers have not lit it up while on a man advantage. Despite having McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and others, Edmonton was 24th in the NHL on the power play at 15.9%. The Leafs are 9-for-21 in their past six games, which brought them to 14th at 20.3%, so perhaps they’ll be licking their chops against an Oilers penalty kill that is last in the NHL at 62.8% … In the absence of captain Auston Matthews, Marner has moved ahead of him on the Leafs franchise points list. Marner is sixth in team history with 661 points in 594 games, while Matthews is seventh with 660 points in 575 games.
The quote
“You never know what you’re going to get with him. You have to respect his talent and his abilities, his creativity. I got to play there for a few months (in Edmonton in 2018-19), so I got to see it firsthand, day in and day out.”
— Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz on facing Oilers star Connor McDavid
The poll
Of the Maple Leafs forwards who have gone on to play for other teams (relatively recently), who would you most like to see play for Toronto again?
1. Zach Hyman
2. Nazem Kadri
3. Mason Marchment
4. Trevor Moore
The projected Leafs lineup
Forwards
Bobby McMann-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
Matthew Knies-Max Domi-William Nylander
Alex Steeves-David Kampf-Pontus Holmberg
Connor Dewar-Steven Lorentz-Ryan Reaves
Defence
Morgan Rielly-Jani Hakanpaa
Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson—Conor Timmins
Goal
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
The injuries
EDM: F Evander Kane (abdomen), F Victor Arvidsson (undisclosed); TOR: C Auston Matthews (upper body), F Max Pacioretty (lower body), F Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), D Dakota Mermis (jaw).
The prediction
Playing again without Matthews, the Leafs manage to stave off the Oilers. 4-2 Toronto.
The vibe:
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X: @koshtorontosun