Leafs look to make it a five game winning streak tonight against Oilers
3 years ago
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 Rating: 74.6#33 LW |  AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 82.3#6 C |  MITCH MARNER Rating: 76.6#18 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 77.83#5 FL1 |
 WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.1#23 LW |  JOHN TAVARES Rating: 77.6#15 C |  ILYA MIKHEYEV Rating: 74.0#42 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 75.90#5 FL2 |
 JIMMY VESEY Rating: 70.6#107 LW |  ALEXANDER KERFOOT Rating: 70.8#113 C |  WAYNE SIMMONDS Rating: 70.2#112 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 70.57#24 FL3 |
 ALEXANDER BARABANOV |  PIERRE ENGVALL Rating: 71.0#98 C |  JASON SPEZZA Rating: 69.4#126 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.22#23 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 75.3#14 LD |  T.J. BRODIE Rating: 74.2#27 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.76#18 DL1 |
 JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 75.1#17 LD |  JUSTIN HOLL Rating: 72.0#61 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.56#12 DL2 |
 MIKKO LEHTONEN |  ZACH BOGOSIAN Rating: 71.4#76 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 71.45#24 DL3 |
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS Rating: 77.4#11 LW |  CONNOR MCDAVID Rating: 82.7#5 C |  JESSE PULJUJARVI | FL1 Rating Rating: 76.37#11 FL1 |
 DOMINIK KAHUN Rating: 72.5#69 LW |  LEON DRAISAITL Rating: 86.1#1 C |  KAILER YAMAMOTO Rating: 73.5#47 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 77.36#1 FL2 |
 JAMES NEAL Rating: 71.7#82 LW |  KYLE TURRIS Rating: 71.6#99 C |  ZACK KASSIAN Rating: 71.2#94 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.49#20 FL3 |
 JOAKIM NYGARD Rating: 72.3#67 LW |  DEVIN SHORE Rating: 69.6#141 C |  JOSH ARCHIBALD Rating: 71.2#95 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 71.03#14 FL4 |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 DARNELL NURSE Rating: 74.1#30 LD |  ETHAN BEAR Rating: 71.8#66 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 72.94#27 DL1 |
 CALEB JONES Rating: 71.0#14 LD |  ADAM LARSSON Rating: 71.1#88 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 71.05#29 DL2 |
 SLATER KOEKKOEK Rating: 71.3#78 LD |  TYSON BARRIE Rating: 75.3#21 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.30#7 DL3 |
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.
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