It’s another Saturday night Leafs game, as the Leafs look to continue their winning ways and build on their league leading 7-2 record, as well as continue their current four game winning streak and sweep this two game series against the Oilers.
The Leafs and Oilers come into tonight’s game after a heated first game that saw the Leafs take a 2-0 lead before “penalty trouble” saw them blow that lead, but an Auston Matthews goal gave the Leafs a 4-3 lead, which would hold for the final score.
The other big story going into tonight’s game is that the Leafs will be debuting their Reverse Retro jerseys, which haven’t gotten the best reaction from fans. But, it will be interesting to see how they look on the ice tonight.
Lineups
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN |
 AUSTON MATTHEWS |
 MITCH MARNER |
|
 WILLIAM NYLANDER |
 JOHN TAVARES |
 ILYA MIKHEYEV |
|
 JIMMY VESEY |
 ALEXANDER KERFOOT |
 WAYNE SIMMONDS |
|
 ALEXANDER BARABANOV |
 PIERRE ENGVALL |
 JASON SPEZZA |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY |
 T.J. BRODIE |
|
 JAKE MUZZIN |
 JUSTIN HOLL |
|
 MIKKO LEHTONEN |
 ZACH BOGOSIAN |
|
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS |
 CONNOR MCDAVID |
 JESSE PULJUJARVI |
|
 DOMINIK KAHUN |
 LEON DRAISAITL |
 KAILER YAMAMOTO |
|
 JAMES NEAL |
 KYLE TURRIS |
 ZACK KASSIAN |
|
 JOAKIM NYGARD |
 DEVIN SHORE |
 JOSH ARCHIBALD |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 DARNELL NURSE |
 ETHAN BEAR |
|
 CALEB JONES |
 ADAM LARSSON |
|
 SLATER KOEKKOEK |
 TYSON BARRIE |
|
Leafs player to watch: Auston Matthews
Matthews is currently on a four game goal scoring streak, although apparently missing a game for injury technically ends that streak, so it’s only a three game goal scoring streak. Regardless, he seems to be back into form with his goal scoring ways, and has two goals in two games against the Oilers, so we’ll see what magic he does tonight.
Oilers player to watch: Tyson Barrie
Barrie was brought on to the Oilers to help soften the blow of losing Oskar Klefbom, and so far his performance hasn’t been the best. He has just three assists in nine games, with two of them coming on the power play, and so far, he has the second worst goals above replacement in the league, behind only Seth Jones, according to Evolving Hockey’s model. He hasn’t capitalized on the “former Leaf scoring on the Leafs” curse yet, so maybe tonight will be his night.
Leafs starting goalie: Frederik Andersen
While we haven’t had confirmation yet, it’s safe to assume that Andersen will get the start tonight with the lack of goalie depth behind him. It’ll be his third straight start, currently with a 5-2 record and a .896 save percentage on the season, as well as a 2-1 record and .915 save percentage against the Oilers.
Oilers starting goalie: Mikko Koskinen
Like Andersen, Koskinen’s start isn’t confirmed, but considering that he’s started every game this season, and the Oilers lack of goalie depth, he likely gets the start tonight. He has a 3-6 record with an .895 save percentage on the season, and is 1-2 with a .901 save percentage against the Leafs.
The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet with a start time of 7:00pm EST.