LGD-Tavares Eve
By Jon Steitzer
5 years agoReally when you think about it, tonight’s game is just really a hassle. You can tell the locker room is focused on Tavares facing the Islanders tomorrow, it’s definitely a game that means something to fans as well, and we’re going into it as the second half of a back to back because the schedule makers plopped the Oilers down on the schedule the night before.
Normally as a Leaf fan living in Edmonton this would be a game that matters to me, but the idea of entertaining the Oilers and their mad dash for 9th in the Western Conference doesn’t hold a lot of interest. We’ve seen Connor McDavid return to Toronto, and seen that it doesn’t really matter and the Leafs will win.
Given the Oilers status as bad and the Islanders game having as much meaning in the locker room as it does it seems odd that Andersen gets the start against Edmonton and Sparks will be in goal in Nassau County. At the end of the day, this probably makes sense as the goal is to try extract the easy points in back to backs, and those easy points are likely coming at home tonight.
This back to back also brings about the end of the month of hell, which has seen the Leafs play 15 times in 28 nights, sporting a 9-3-1 record so far. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so hellish after all, and the competition was largely made up of draft lottery bound teams, but still, rest is good.
The Leafs seem to be on the verge of shutting down Jake Gardiner for an extended period of time, and that’s definitely ungood, especially when a timetable for Kadri’s return hasn’t been established yet either. Still, we’re not to the point where there is any risk of Justin Holl being given a chance and initial comments from Mike Babcock seem to point to Nic Petan getting to know Justin Holl very well.
LW | C | RW | Forwards |
---|---|---|---|
ZACH HYMAN Rating: 74.8#41 LW | JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.8#13 C | MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.9#13 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.46#15 FL1 |
ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 76.2#33 LW | AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 85.2#4 C | KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 74.1#46 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 78.50#2 FL2 |
PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 73.6#54 LW | WILLIAM NYLANDER Rating: 76.0#45 C | CONNOR BROWN Rating: 70.8#95 RW | FL3 Rating Rating: 73.47#10 FL3 |
TYLER ENNIS Rating: 71.4#97 LW | FREDERIK GAUTHIER Rating: 67.4#181 C | TREVOR MOORE Rating: 73.6#50 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.80#18 FL4 |
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
---|---|---|
MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 80.5#5 LD | RON HAINSEY Rating: 72.8#56 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 76.66#9 DL1 |
JAKE MUZZIN Rating: 75.8#20 LD | NIKITA ZAITSEV Rating: 71.4#79 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 73.64#14 DL2 |
TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 73.7#43 LD | IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 72.9#54 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 73.32#6 DL3 |
On the Oilers side of things, tonight marks the return of Connor McDavid from his well earned two game suspension. Amazingly the Oilers managed to go 1-0-1 without him, and should probably be taken as an early warning sign of them going on a “too little too late” run against teams resting injured players and starting their #2 goaltenders.
Tonight will also be Sam Gagner’s much heralded return to Toronto after being traded from the Marlies. Funny that playing on the first line of the Marlies can land you a spot on the first line of the Oilers so quickly. That shouldn’t alarm anyone in Edmonton.
Beyond that, not a lot more to say. If the Leafs keep a close eye on three players they’ll probably win. Not much more of a game plan required than that, and given the Oilers tendency to give up quick goals, the Leafs should be able to coast through the 2nd and 3rd periods and stay rested for their real game tomorrow night.
Last update: February 27, 2019
LW | C | RW | Forwards |
---|---|---|---|
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS Rating: 75.1#54 LW | CONNOR MCDAVID Rating: 88.5#1 C | SAM GAGNER Rating: 72.7#65 RW | FL1 Rating Rating: 78.73#13 FL1 |
TOBIAS RIEDER Rating: 70.3#119 LW | LEON DRAISAITL Rating: 81.4#14 C | ALEX CHIASSON Rating: 70.4#104 RW | FL2 Rating Rating: 74.04#21 FL2 |
MILAN LUCIC Rating: 70.1#124 LW | COLBY CAVE Rating: 72.2#105 C | JOSH CURRIE | FL3 Rating Rating: 71.12#27 FL3 |
BRAD MALONE Rating: 72.6#77 LW | KYLE BRODZIAK Rating: 69.6#167 C | ZACK KASSIAN Rating: 70.1#109 RW | FL4 Rating Rating: 70.77#19 FL4 |
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
---|---|---|
OSCAR KLEFBOM Rating: 77.0#14 LD | ADAM LARSSON Rating: 71.7#77 RD | DL1 Rating Rating: 74.31#18 DL1 |
DARNELL NURSE Rating: 73.3#49 LD | KRIS RUSSELL Rating: 71.7#76 RD | DL2 Rating Rating: 72.49#20 DL2 |
MATT BENNING Rating: 71.1#98 LD | ANDREJ SEKERA Rating: 73.4#48 RD | DL3 Rating Rating: 72.21#16 DL3 |
Starting Goaltenders
Andersen vs. Koskinen. What do we really need to say about Koskinen that hasn’t been said before? The league is blessed he’s around for another three years, and I’d count on seeing a lot of 40 goal scorers out of the Pacific division for the foreseeable future.
It’s a 7pm ET start time tonight, so you’ll want to tune in early before Koskinen is chased. Hopefully tonight is a worthwhile appetizer to the circus that will take place tomorrow night.
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