Maple Leafs Game Day Preview: Oilers’ First Visit of the Season – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. They come into this game with points in their last six games. As for the Oilers, they arrive in Toronto after making two trades yesterday in an effort to address their struggles. Their new starting goalie, Tristan Jarry, is set to make his Oilers debut tonight against the Maple Leafs.

Related: Maple Leafs Weekly: Hildeby, Tanev & Mock Trades

Unfortunately, in their last game against the San Jose Sharks, the Maple Leafs blew a late third-period lead and ended up losing in overtime. However, the last time they played the Pittsburgh Penguins and faced Jarry, they scored three goals on 13 shots and went on to win 7-2. So, if they can get to him early like they did last time, they not only can spoil his debut with his new club but also keep their point streak going.

Maple Leafs News:

The Maple Leafs have had a quiet few days since the game against the Sharks on Thursday night. Heading into tonight’s game against the Oilers, they will get Bobby McMann back from his suspension. They also received some good news on the injury front. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who left the game the other night with what looked like a pretty serious ankle injury, has been cleared and said he feels good enough to play tonight. That is great news for the Maple Leafs.

Unfortunately, they may be without both Dakota Joshua and William Nylander tonight. Both missed practice this morning due to illness. Early projections for tonight’s lineup have them sitting out, but the hope is that by the time they arrive at the rink, they are feeling better and able to play. If not, it looks like Mattias Maccelli will draw into the lineup after sitting out the last six games.

Team Stats

Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Record: 13-11-5 (33 pts)

Top Scorers:

1. William Nylander – 11 G, 23 A, 34 P
2. John Tavares  – 13 G, 17 A, 30 P
3. Matthew Knies – 7 G, 21 A, 28 P
4. Morgan Rielly – 5 G, 18 A, 23 P
5. Auston Matthews – 13 G, 8 A, 21 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Anthony Stolarz – 6-5-1, 3.51 GAA, .884 SV%
2. Joseph Woll – 4-3-1, 2.44 GAA, .928 SV% 
3. Dennis Hildeby – 2-2-3, 1 SO, 2.25 GAA, .933 SV%

Edmonton Oilers 
Season Record: 14-11-6 (34 pts)

Top Scorers:

1. Connor McDavid – 16 G, 32 A, 48 P
2. Leon Draisaitl – 17 G, 23 A, 40 P
3. Evan Bouchard – 5 G, 23 A, 28 P
4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 7 G, 17 A, 24 P
5. Jack Roslovic – 10 G, 8 A, 18 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Tristan Jarry – 9-3-1, 2.66 GAA, .909 SV%
2. Calvin Pickard – 3-3-2, 4.04 GAA, .851 SV%

Projected Lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)

7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Mathew Knies — Auston Matthews — Max Domi
Easton Cowan — John Tavares — Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz — Scott Laughton — Calle Jarnkrok
Bobby McMann — Nicolas Roy — Matias Maccelli

Morgan Rielly — Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe — Troy Stecher
Simon Benoit — Henry Thrun

Dennis Hildeby
Artur Akhtyamov

Scratched: Philippe Myers

Injured: Chris Tanev (upper body), Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Brandon Carlo (lower body), Joseph Woll (lower body), Dakota Mermis (lower body), William Nylander (illness), Dakota Joshua (illness)

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin — Leon Draisaitl — Matthew Savoie
Trent Frederic — Adam Henrique — Mattias Janmark
Andrew Mangiapane — Curtis Lazar — David Tomasek

Mattias Ekholm — Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse — Alec Regula
Spencer Stastney — Ty Emberson

Tristan Jarry
Calvin Pickard

Scratched: Max Jones, Riley Stillman

Injured: Connor Clattenburg (eye), Kasperi Kapanen (knee), Noah Philp (undisclosed), Jack Roslovic (undisclosed), Jake Walman (undisclosed)