Gameday Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Time: Wednesday, February 27h 2019
Toronto: 38-20-4 for 80 points
Edmonton: 26-29-7 for 59 points
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to keep winning at home and continue to hold onto their place in the standings against the severely struggling Connor McDavid and The Edmonton Oilers.0
Top Scorers/Goalie Matchup
Mitch Marner –74 points (22 goals 52 assists)
John Tavares – 68 points (36 goals 32 assists) 54% on face-offs
Morgan Rielly – 61 points (15 goals 46 assists)
Auston Matthews – 59 points (30 goals 29 assists) 53% on Face-offs
Connor McDavid – 86 points (32 goals 54 assists)
Leon Draisaitl –77 points (39 goals 38 assists)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 27 points (20 goals 36 assists)
Darnell Nurse – 32points (7 goals 24 assists)
Frederik Andersen
29-13-3 2.59GAA .923SV%
Mikko Koskinen
16-16-4 2.87GAA .907SV%
Lineups:
Toronto:
Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – Kasperi Kapanen
Mitch Marner – John Tavares – Zach Hyman
Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
Tyler Ennis – Pars Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier
Morgan Rielly – Jake Muzzin
Travis Dermott – Nikita Zaitsev
Igor Ozhiganov – Ron Hainsey
Frederik Andersen
Garrett Sparks
Scratched: Justin Holl
Injuries: Nathan Horton (Back), Jake Gardiner (Back)
Suspension: None
Edmonton:
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Sam Gagner
Tobias Reider – Leon Draisaitl– Alex Chiasson
Milan Lucic – Colby Cave – Josh Currie
Brad Malone – Kyle Brodziak – Zack Kassian
Oscar Klefblom – Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse – Kris Russell
Matt Benning – Andrej Sekera
Mikko Koskinen
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: None
Injuries: Jesse Pulijarvi and Juraj Khaira
Suspension: None
Keys to Winning against Edmonton:
- Shut Down McDavid
- McDavid has over 70% of the points the Oilers have if you shut him down the offense is almost non-existent
- Puck Possession
- Play a game of keep-away cycle the puck and keep them hemmed in their own zone.
- Attack the Defence
- Oilers defence is known for its giveaways and bad defensive play. Attack them make them rush and pay dividends from the turnovers.
Gameday:
First Period:
Toronto Penalty – 10:04 – Morgan Rielly, 2 minutes for Hooking
Edmonton PP Goal – 11:06 – Leon Draisaitl (39) assisted by Connor McDavid (54) and Darnell Nurse (23)
Toronto Goal – 18:02 – Patrick Marleau (14) assisted by Jake Muzzin (23) and Connor Brown (17)
Edmonton Penalty – 15:57 – Alex Chiasson, 2 minutes for Slashing
End of 1st – EDM–1 TOR – 1
Shots 12 12
Faceoffs 7/19 12/19
Hits 12 5
PP 1/1 0/1
Analysis
Edmonton came out flying and scored a nice powerplay goal courtesy of Leon Draisaitl. But the Leafs settled in and came back to tie it late with a Patrick Marleau goal with 2 minutes left in the 1st.
Need to Do:
Don’t take stupid penalties and continue to clog up the neutral zone for Connor McDavid.
Toronto Goal – 1:09 – Mitch Marner (22) assisted by Zach Hyman (15) and Ron Hainsey (13)
Toronto Goal – 2:26 – Andreas Johnsson (18) assisted by Kasperi Kapanen (22) and Auston Matthews (29)
Edmonton Penalty – 4:07 –Darnell Nurse, 2 mins for Slashing
Toronto PP Goal – 4:50 – William Nylander (5) assisted by Tyler Ennis (5) and Patrick Marleau (19)
Edmonton Penalty – 6:39–Colby Cave, 2 mins for Interference
Toronto PP Goal – 8:09 – Andreas Johnsson (19) assisted by John Tavares (32) and Mitch Marner (51)
Toronto Penalty – 17:12–Auston Matthews, 2 mins for High Sticking
Edmonton Penalty – 18:47– Leon Draisaitl, 2 mins for High Sticking
Edmonton Penalty – 19:51– Matt Benning, 2 mins for Cross Checking
End of 2nd – EDM– 1 TOR –5
Shots 24 24
Faceoffs 14/38 24/38
Hits 24 10
PP 1/2 2/5
Analysis:
Leafs came out in the 2nd period to kill. They held McDavid for most of the night away from the net and then in the 2nd began to score at will. Andreas Johnsson netted a pair in the 2nd to make it 5-1.
Need to Do:
Tighten up defensively and get ready for a push in the 3rd.
Third Period:
Toronto PP Goal– 00:25 – John Tavares (36) assisted by, Mitch Marner (52) and William Nylander (11)
Edmonton Goal– 16:06 – Ryan Nugent Hopkins (20) assisted by Darnell Nurse(19)
End of 3rd – EDM – 2 TOR –6
Shots 36 36
Faceoffs 22/59 37/59
Hits 33 17
PP 1/2 3/5
Analysis:
Leafs settle down in the 3rd and carry the game the rest of the way home.
Next Up:
Toronto (39-20-4 82pts) vs NY Islander (36-19-7 79pts)
Edmonton (26-30-7 59pts) at Ottawa (22-30-5 49pts)
