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Leafs face Oilers for final time in the regular season
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Photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Mer
By Mer
Mar 29, 2021, 12:31 EDTUpdated: Mar 29, 2021, 12:28 EDT
Coming off a 4-3 OT win on Saturday, the Leafs take on the Oilers for one final time this (regular) season tonight, and they’ll be doing so with @Michael Hutchinson in net. In the two teams’ games this season, the Leafs are 6-1-1, and all 3 of their goalies have played (and won) against the Oilers.
Saturday was arguably @Jack Campbell’s shakiest game so far this season, and the team in front of him struggled to hit the net, as well; though they finally overcame a 2-goal deficit to tie the game at 3 apiece late in the third period. And @Auston Matthews finally got over his snake bite, scoring the OT winner. While the Leafs are now on a 3-game winning streak, two of those three have been in overtime, which is not necessarily ideal when the divisional race is tight.
As the Leafs look to extend their winning streak, and hopefully pull it off in regulation, the Oilers are smarting from yet another loss to a team they want to get the best of. They’ll be hungry for the win, and with Hutchinson in net for the Leafs you can bet that Edmonton will try to come out strong offensively. The Leafs will need to play tight defense, but will also need to dial up their own offense and keep the puck away from Edmonton’s dynamic duo.

Tale of the Tape

Lineups

Toronto Maple Leafs
LWCRW
Zach Hyman

ZACH HYMAN
Rating: 74.6#33 LW
Auston Matthews

AUSTON MATTHEWS
Rating: 82.3#6 C
Mitch Marner

MITCH MARNER
Rating: 76.6#18 RW
Alex Galchenyuk

ALEX GALCHENYUK
Rating: 70.8#115 LW
John Tavares

JOHN TAVARES
Rating: 77.6#15 C
William Nylander

WILLIAM NYLANDER
Rating: 76.1#23 RW
Joe Thornton

JOE THORNTON
Rating: 72.3#74 LW
Alexander Kerfoot

ALEXANDER KERFOOT
Rating: 70.8#113 C
Jason Spezza

JASON SPEZZA
Rating: 69.4#126 RW
Ilya Mikheyev

ILYA MIKHEYEV
Rating: 74.0#42 LW
Pierre Engvall

PIERRE ENGVALL
Rating: 71.0#98 C
Wayne Simmonds

WAYNE SIMMONDS
Rating: 70.2#112 RW
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Morgan Rielly

MORGAN RIELLY
Rating: 75.3#14 LD
T.J. Brodie

T.J. BRODIE
Rating: 74.2#27 RD
Jake Muzzin

JAKE MUZZIN
Rating: 75.1#17 LD
Justin Holl

JUSTIN HOLL
Rating: 72.0#61 RD
Travis Dermott

TRAVIS DERMOTT
Rating: 71.7#83 LD
Zach Bogosian

ZACH BOGOSIAN
Rating: 71.4#76 RD
Edmonton Oilers
LWCRW
Leon Draisaitl

LEON DRAISAITL
Rating: 86.1#1 LW
Connor McDavid

CONNOR MCDAVID
Rating: 82.7#5 C
Dominik Kahun

DOMINIK KAHUN
Rating: 72.5#69 LW
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS
Rating: 77.4#11 C
Kailer Yamamoto

KAILER YAMAMOTO
Rating: 73.5#47 RW
Josh Archibald

JOSH ARCHIBALD
Rating: 71.2#95 LW
Gaetan Haas

GAETAN HAAS
Rating: 69.6#139 C
Zack Kassian

ZACK KASSIAN
Rating: 71.2#94 RW
Devin Shore

DEVIN SHORE
Rating: 69.6#141 LW
Jujhar Khaira

JUJHAR KHAIRA
Rating: 69.1#152 C
Alex Chiasson

ALEX CHIASSON
Rating: 72.2#76 RW
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Darnell Nurse

DARNELL NURSE
Rating: 74.1#30 LD
Tyson Barrie

TYSON BARRIE
Rating: 75.3#21 RD
Adam Larsson

ADAM LARSSON
Rating: 71.1#88 RD
Kris Russell

KRIS RUSSELL
Rating: 70.1#115 LD
Ethan Bear

ETHAN BEAR
Rating: 71.8#66 RD

Starting Goalies

As mentioned, Hutch will be in net for the Leafs tonight, as Campbell wasn’t feeling great coming off Saturdays game, and the team is managing his workload, per Keefe. In his last game against the Oilers, Hutch recorded a shutout. However, in his last start for the Leafs (against Ottawa), he was pulled early in the first period. The thing with Hutch, as Jon and I mentioned on the Channel 6ix pod today, is that you never know which version of him you’re getting. He could record a shutout against @Connor McDavid’s team, or he could get pulled against the Senators. We’ll see which version we get tonight! The Oilers are likely to give @Mike Smith the start again, as he looked solid in net on Saturday for the majority of the game. While the Leafs managed to sneak out the win against him, he kept them at bay for much of the game. He’s also having an overall strong showing this season, with an 11-3-1 record and a .918 save percentage. The Leafs will have to work a bit harder tonight if they want to both keep the puck way from Hutch, and hit the net more often.

Catch the action tonight, puck drop 7pm EST on Sportsnet.