<p style="font-weight: 400;">The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> and Edmonton Oilers have more similarities than people might think. Both teams came into the 2024-25 season as Stanley Cup contenders and thus far have had moments this season where they look like they might be the favourite to win the whole thing, but there have also been times this season when the Oilers and Leafs have looked like another early playoff exit could be looming.</p>
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<p style="font-weight: 400;">Both teams are comfortably sitting in playoff positions right now with basically the same record, the Maple Leafs are 41-24-3 for 85 points and the Oilers are 40-24-4 for 84 points. Most of that success came thanks to each team’s star players, but what happens when these stars don’t perform?</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Every NHL star is going to have the occasional off game during the regular season where the puck isn’t finding the back of the net or the other team is just doing a great job of shutting them down with no space, but when that happens you expect the secondary scoring to come through and give the team a goal or two. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs and Oilers that hasn’t been happening a lot and that’s where the two teams find themselves in similar spots.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">For the Maple Leafs, if the ‘Cour Four’ plus Matthew Knies doesn’t find the back of the net on any given night, it’s rare the other 13 guys on the ice will either. Obviously, there have been games where secondary scoring has come through, but for most of the season, it hasn’t been there. Of the 217 total goals the Maple Leafs have scored this season, 137 of them have come off the sticks of William Nylander (38G),<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/dont-look-auston-matthews-all-way-back-toronto-maple-leafs"> Auston Matthews</a> (27G), John Tavares (27G), Knies (24G) and Mitch Marner (21G), or in other terms, 63 percent of the Leafs&#8217; goals this year. 17 other players, including guys that have been traded, combine for the remaining 80 goals this season.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s break that down: five players have scored more than half of Toronto’s collective goals. Or the other way around, even 17 combined players cannot contribute to success in the same way the top five can. Of course, a version of this deviation seems reasonable; the top players should, and will, score the most. But how sustainable is it for this to be the case with such large margins?</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The Maple Leafs struggled with secondary scoring in the playoffs last season—everyone remembers their first-round exit after only scoring 13 goals in seven games. Looking at this team’s current trajectory, this same scoring imbalance might have them poised for similar troubles this April. The Oilers aren’t much better off, with 221 total goals this season, 129 of them have come from Leon Draisaitl (49G), Connor McDavid (26G), Zach Hyman (24G), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (17G) and Evan Bouchard (13G). In similar fashion to Toronto, these five have accounted for 58 percent of the Oilers goals so far this season. Edmonton is top-heavy.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Fans shouldn’t fret yet, the Oilers and Leafs both find themselves within the top third of the league in terms of goals scored, at seventh and eighth respectively. However, the fear factor might come if some of these top talents experience a dry spell—especially if that drought comes in games that really matter.</p>
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<p style="font-weight: 400;">The <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/combinations">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> and Edmonton Oilers have more similarities than people might think. Both teams came into the 2024-25 season as Stanley Cup contenders and thus far have had moments this season where they look like they might be the favourite to win the whole thing, but there have also been times this season when the Oilers and Leafs have looked like another early playoff exit could be looming.</p>

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<p style="font-weight: 400;">Both teams are comfortably sitting in playoff positions right now with basically the same record, the Maple Leafs are 41-24-3 for 85 points and the Oilers are 40-24-4 for 84 points. Most of that success came thanks to each team’s star players, but what happens when these stars don’t perform?</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Every NHL star is going to have the occasional off game during the regular season where the puck isn’t finding the back of the net or the other team is just doing a great job of shutting them down with no space, but when that happens you expect the secondary scoring to come through and give the team a goal or two. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs and Oilers that hasn’t been happening a lot and that’s where the two teams find themselves in similar spots.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">For the Maple Leafs, if the ‘Cour Four’ plus Matthew Knies doesn’t find the back of the net on any given night, it’s rare the other 13 guys on the ice will either. Obviously, there have been games where secondary scoring has come through, but for most of the season, it hasn’t been there. Of the 217 total goals the Maple Leafs have scored this season, 137 of them have come off the sticks of William Nylander (38G),<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/dont-look-auston-matthews-all-way-back-toronto-maple-leafs"> Auston Matthews</a> (27G), John Tavares (27G), Knies (24G) and Mitch Marner (21G), or in other terms, 63 percent of the Leafs' goals this year. 17 other players, including guys that have been traded, combine for the remaining 80 goals this season.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s break that down: five players have scored more than half of Toronto’s collective goals. Or the other way around, even 17 combined players cannot contribute to success in the same way the top five can. Of course, a version of this deviation seems reasonable; the top players should, and will, score the most. But how sustainable is it for this to be the case with such large margins?</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The Maple Leafs struggled with secondary scoring in the playoffs last season—everyone remembers their first-round exit after only scoring 13 goals in seven games. Looking at this team’s current trajectory, this same scoring imbalance might have them poised for similar troubles this April. The Oilers aren’t much better off, with 221 total goals this season, 129 of them have come from Leon Draisaitl (49G), Connor McDavid (26G), Zach Hyman (24G), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (17G) and Evan Bouchard (13G). In similar fashion to Toronto, these five have accounted for 58 percent of the Oilers goals so far this season. Edmonton is top-heavy.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Fans shouldn’t fret yet, the Oilers and Leafs both find themselves within the top third of the league in terms of goals scored, at seventh and eighth respectively. However, the fear factor might come if some of these top talents experience a dry spell—especially if that drought comes in games that really matter.</p>
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