GDT: Leafs@Oilers 9PM TSN4

[Budsfan]

Thursday game preview: Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers

Kadri will likely get another chance to try to shut down McDavid.

Thursday game preview: Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers | Toronto Star

Connor McDavid, right, held pointless in two of his last three games, might see plenty of Nazem Kadri on Thursday. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)


By Mark ZwolinskiSports reporter
Wed., Nov. 29, 2017

ROGERS PLACE
PUCK DROP: 9 p.m.
TV: TSN
RADIO: Sportsnet 590 The FAN
KEY PLAYERS
Kadri/McDavid
It’s likely Nazem Kadri draws the checking assignment against Connor McDavid, and we’ll see if there’s any repeat of the rough ride Kadri gave the young Oilers star last year. Kadri has a way of getting under the skin of the best players. McDavid can handle the rough stuff, though; the Oilers are coming off a win over Boston last weekend where Zdeno Chara was in an extra snarly mood and took a lot of it out on McDavid. Kadri and the Leafs opening their three-game, western road swing with a win over Calgary.
NEED TO KNOW
Edmonton has won three of its last four games, which is a sign the club might be climbing out of its season-long struggles. They Oilers, who had 103 points last season, won in overtime over Arizona on Tuesday, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring the winner. That gave a team that was expected to be one of the top teams in the West consecutive wins for the first time this season. Entering the game, Edmonton had been 1-10-0 when trailing after two periods. . . . McDavid has been held pointless in two of his last three games and hasn’t scored in five . . . Edmonton goaltender Cam Talbot has been the target of critics for an up-and-down first quarter of the season, including a couple of stretches where he lost three games in a row. And just when it looked like he was turning things around — he has won his last three starts while raising his save percentage to .903 — he reportedly has an upper-body injury and might not be able to play against the Leafs . . . It will be important for the Oilers to score the game’s first goal; they have allowed the first goal 17 times this season, which helps explain their 10-13-2 start.
UP NEXT
Saturday, at Vancouver, 7 p.

Game Day: Maple Leafs at Oilers
Lance HornbyMore from Lance Hornby

Game Day: Maple Leafs at Oilers

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid. (JEFFREY T. BARNES/AP)

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS at EDMONTON OILERS
Thurday, 9 P.M., Rogers Place
TV: TSN4, RADIO: 590 AM
THE BIG MATCHUP
C Connor McDavid vs. C Auston Matthews
The young lions lead in respective club points and will be conscious of the huge audience following their every move. While McDavid plays an average of three minutes more per night, he has been hard-pressed to find a good working relationship with the number of wingers moved in and out of his line. Matthews, perhaps not 100% recovered from a back ailment, still has been a consistent threat.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
Hole in goal?
Oilers coach Todd McLellan lists netminder Cam Talbot as questionable for Thursday, further enhancing the advantage Toronto would have with a hot Frederik Andersen. Talbot’s back-up, Laurent Brossoit, is winless in four decisions this year and has a save percentage of .881.
Shooting blanks
Anyone on the Oilers not named McDavid is struggling to find the net consistently. Scoring drops off quickly after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon.
What’s my line?
Meanwhile, another shuffled deck greeted the Leafs at practice on Wednesday, notably Mitch Marner back with Auston Matthews and the usual James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak pairing broken up. Not a good sign for William Nylander to remain on the fourth line, but he did get an assist Tuesday in Calgary.
Killing themselves softly
Any team last in league penalty killing is living dangerously. At home the Oilers are barely 60%, so be careful crossing the line with officials.
Oil change
Another pro-Leafs crowd of Eastern transplants and loyal locals should make Toronto feel at home. Edmonton dodged a bullet by beating last-place Arizona on Tuesday, but it won’t take much to stir up their impatient supporters.
OILERS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Milan Lucic Connor McDavid Jesse Puljujarvi
Patrick Maroon Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Anton Slepyshev
Drake Caggiula Leon Draisaitl Ryan Strome
Jujhar Khaira Mark Letestu Zack Kassian
DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Darnell Nurse Adam Larsson
Oscar Klefbom Matt Benning
Yohann Auvitu Kris Russell
GOALIES
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Sick Bay
D Andrej Sekera
LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman Auston Matthews Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Tyler Bozak Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk Nazem Kadri Leo Komarov
Matt Martin Dominic Moore William Nylander
DEFFENCE PAIRINGS
Morgan Rielly Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Borgman Roman Polak
GOALIES
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Sick Bay
None
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play
Toronto 21.8% (8th)
Edmonton 18.2% (19th)
Penalty Killing
Toronto 81.4% (12th)
Edmonton 73.2% (31st)

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs

The Oilers host the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday at Rogers Place

by Chris Wescott & Marc Ciampa / EdmontonOilers.com
PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs

The Oilers conclude their short two-game home stand with a match against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
You can watch the game regionally on Sportsnet West or listen via 630 CHED and the Oilers Radio Network.
Read the Preview then chack back following Thursday's media availability for the Morning Skate Report.

THE PANEL | Shooting for Three

• 05:03 • November 29th, 2017

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
COMING SOON - OILERS TODAY | Tom Gazzola reports on the key storylines prior to tonight's game
COMING SOON - Oilers Pre-Game Interviews
COMING SOON - PRE-GAME RAW | Oilers Head Coach McLellan
COMING SOON - THE OTHER SIDE | Maple Leafs Pre-Game Interviews
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs
Media Game Notes: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs
2017-18 Oilers Player Statistics
2017-18 Maple Leafs Player Statistics
Head-to-Head: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs
2017-18 NHL Standings

RECENT VIDEOS
THE PANEL | Shooting for three
PRACTICE | Wednesday at Rogers Place
MINORS MINUTE | Skinner & Benson
RAW | Chiarelli Press Conference
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: McLellan on McDavid and Matthews
BLOG: Talbot update
FUTURE WATCH: Kyle Platzer
GENE'S BLOG: One-derful talents
GAME PROGRAM

Tonight's Game Program
MORE INFORMATION
You can watch tonight's game regionally on Sportsnet West.
Injury Report
Play our Oilers Fantasy Hockey game and win prizes
UPDATES
Inside The Oilers Blog
INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from Wednesday's practice at Rogers Place, including news on Cam Talbot and McLellan's comments on Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG
PRE-GAME REPORT

EDMONTON, AB - Check back following the morning skate for a full report.
-- Chris Wescott, EdmontonOilers.com
PREVIEW

OILERS (10-13-2) vs. MAPLE LEAFS (16-9-1)
TV: 7:00 p.m. MST; Televised on Sportsnet West
Head-to-Head:
The Oilers and Maple Leafs are meeting for the first time this season.
Edmonton is 2-6-3 in their last 11 meetings with Toronto, being outscored 42-26. The Maple Leafs have won four of their last six road games versus the Oilers.
These two teams will meet again on December 10, in Toronto.
Oilers team scope:
Edmonton is hoping to string together their first three-game win streak of the season, as they're coming off back-to-back wins over Boston and Arizona.
In the Oilers last game, they battled back from down 2-1 to send things to overtime where Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sealed the victory over the Coyotes.
Connor McDavid leads the team in scoring with 30 points (10-20-30) in 25 games. Nugent-Hopkins is second on the team in goals with nine.
Maple Leafs team scope:
After winning six straight games in the middle of the month, the Maple Leafs have gone 2-2-1 in their last five.
Toronto is 9-4-0 this season when scoring a power-play goal. They're 2-for-14 on the man advantage in their last seven games.
In their last game, the Oilers downed Calgary 4-1.
Auston Matthews leads them in scoring with 24 points (12-12-24). Nazem Kadri is second on the team with 22 points (12-10-22).
By the Numbers:
The Oilers penalty kill is just 61.1% at home this season. The club is 4-1-0 this season when leading after the first.
Connor McDavid has not been held pointless in back-to-back games this season. McDavid has eight multi-point games this season and the team is 6-2-0 in those games. Nugent-Hopkins has 12 points (8-4-12) in 12 home games this year.
Auston Matthews has gone five games without scoring, but has 14 points in 12 road games this season.
Injury Report:
OILERS - A. Sekera (knee) is on IR; J. Khaira (lower body) is day-to-day; Cam Talbot (upper-body) is day-to-day.
MAPLE LEAFS - J. Lupul (sports hernia) is on IR.
-- Chris Wescott, EdmontonOilers.com

Click to read more...

 

[WTFMAN99]

Did not realize how bad Edmonton is penalty killing.

 

[Thread The Needle]

Let's bounce these fools out of their own building!

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Lets get it

 

[al secord]

Hante Yo!

 

[Budsfan]

 

[TML Dynasty]

Flew in from Halifax for this one.....damn excited!

 

[Laineux]

Oilers fan in peace.

McDavid vs Matthews, two best young players in the game by far. It's going to be an entertaining one and I hope they both put on a show. Would be nice to see them matched up but that is probably not going to happen a lot.

Leafs are really good this year and I'm afraid the Oilers will have a really tough game coming up...

 

[MR4]

Oilers fan in peace.

McDavid vs Matthews, two best young players in the game by far. It's going to be an entertaining one and I hope they both put on a show. Would be nice to see them matched up but that is probably not going to happen a lot.

Leafs are really good this year and I'm afraid the Oilers will have a really tough game coming up...

Damn shame Matthews isn't fully healthy yet, or maybe he just needs a game against McDavid to bring him back to full speed

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

Not likely Nylander makes his big breakout being on the forth line again tonight but it would be nice if he at least keeps his mini point streak going.

 

[Walshy7]

Not likely Nylander makes his big breakout being on the forth line again tonight but it would be nice if he at least keeps his mini point streak going.

on a 3 game point streak, make it 4 tonight and.... Still be on the 4th line Saturday night

 

[Mess]

LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman Auston Matthews Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Tyler Bozak Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk Nazem Kadri Leo Komarov
Matt Martin Dominic Moore William Nylander


Looks like Babcock is tying to hide his 3rd line players by splitting the Bozak line in 3 and playing a different player on 3 different lines with each one getting paired with 2 solid 2-way players to reduce their defensive weaknesses.

Babcock generally shelters his 3rd line via limited TOI/g and against favourable matchups of QofC opposition. Now he is playing them all separately against Oilers.

 

[Brobust]

Oilers fan in peace.

McDavid vs Matthews, two best young players in the game by far. It's going to be an entertaining one and I hope they both put on a show. Would be nice to see them matched up but that is probably not going to happen a lot.

Leafs are really good this year and I'm afraid the Oilers will have a really tough game coming up...

It may happen, if McLellan allows it. Babcock was ok with using Matthews against Gaudreau and Monahan last game.

 

[Mess]

on a 3 game point streak, make it 4 tonight and.... Still be on the 4th line Saturday night

Except he set up Kadri last game and set up JVR against Carolina, and Zaitsev against Washington, so the coach is moving him into offensive opportunities and only playing him in the 4th line role in limited opportunities.

 

[Budsfan]

LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman Auston Matthews Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Tyler Bozak Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk Nazem Kadri Leo Komarov
Matt Martin Dominic Moore William Nylander


Looks like Babcock is tying to hide his 3rd line players by splitting the Bozak line in 3 and playing a different player on 3 different lines with each one getting paired with 2 solid 2-way players to reduce their defensive weaknesses.

Babcock generally shelters his 3rd line via limited TOI/g and against favourable matchups of QofC opposition. Now he is playing them all separately against Oilers.

Lots of times I think Babcock sets his lines early, only to have the opposition adjust their lines to match up players, then after a few shifts he rearranges the lines to a different cofiguration.

 

[Metal God]

I like the Oilers and think they'll be ok, but over on the Oilers forum. They call us Laughs? Really?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Hopefully we can come out with another solid defensive performance again. Hearing Oilers fans talking about our “weak defence” when we outrank them in that regard is funny.

Not that our defence is as good as it should be, but we’ve been improving and it’s helped that Andersen has returned to form. Leafs are smack dab in the middle for Goals against per game, tied for 15th with Vegas. If the Leafs can stay at least in that 10-15 range then that’s a success after finishing 22nd last year.

 

[ACC1224]

Oilers are a nice young Team. A few more lottery picks and they will be ready for the next step. Expect big thanks NGOs from them by 2025.

 

[al secord]

This game will bring out the best in Kadri. He'll be draped all over McDavid tonight, it will look like Connor is actually wearing his old Leaf Jersey.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Lots of times I think Babcock sets his lines early, only to have the opposition adjust their lines to match up players, then after a few shifts he rearranges the lines to a different cofiguration.

Isn't that what he does every game? How often do his lines at the end match his lines at the beginning? I can not even recall a game, but then again that's not exactly something I am looking out for either.

 

[Mugzy97]

Feels good to have a cushion in the playoff race already this season, but we also have the most games played. We need to win these games to stay ahead of the curve.

The west is looking like a rat race right now.

 

[Tall Morty]

I trust that this GDT will remain civil and generally positive overall.

 

[Budsfan]

I trust that this GDT will remain civil and generally positive overall.

One can only hope.

 

[bobermay]

LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman Auston Matthews Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Tyler Bozak Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk Nazem Kadri Leo Komarov
Matt Martin Dominic Moore William Nylander


Looks like Babcock is tying to hide his 3rd line players by splitting the Bozak line in 3 and playing a different player on 3 different lines with each one getting paired with 2 solid 2-way players to reduce their defensive weaknesses.

Babcock generally shelters his 3rd line via limited TOI/g and against favourable matchups of QofC opposition. Now he is playing them all separately against Oilers.

Interesting lines. Which one does Babs try to matchup against McDavid?

 

[CycloneSweep]

Oilers fan coming in peace. We won our last 2 games which pretty much guarantees that we shit the bed tonight. We are 2-7-0 in games after a win. Just hoping you guys don't embarrass us too much. Cheers