After losing a heartbreaker in their last meeting, the Oilers land in Toronto looking to avenge that loss, get themselves on a winning streak and walk away with four points in a back-to-back situation for the first time this season.

When the Oilers and Leafs faced off 10 days ago, it was actually one of the most exciting games of the year. Edmonton dug their way out of the early hole they got themselves into and turned the game into a ‘who would be the last to make a mistake’ thriller. Unfortunately for Oilers fans, Kris Russell’s game winner was scored for the wrong team and we all got robbed of what would have probably been an insane five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime. That said, what’s done is done and now it’s up to the Oilers to replicate the effort that won them last night’s game and find a way to keep the win train rolling.

With both the Oilers and Leafs winning their games yesterday, it will be interesting to see what kind of pace both sides start with. If the last game against Toronto taught us anything, it’s that the Leafs play with plenty of tenacity on the forecheck which effectively limits time and space and the Oilers are going to have to make quick decisions in order to avoid it. If Edmonton is hoping to steal two points, step one has to be getting another 60 minutes like they got yesterday in Montreal, and making sure they limit their mistakes when under pressure from Toronto’s forecheck. Step 2 will be getting the same clutch goaltending out of Brossoit that allowed them to bend without breaking.

If they can manage to do those things twice in a row, and they can continue to get scoring contributions from all four lines, the Oilers could find themselves not only winning this game but also inching closer to a Wildcard spot. Let’s see if they can take care of Steps 1 and 2 first.

1. Looking at the special teams’ numbers, the Maple Leafs have the advantage with both the penalty kill and man advantage. Toronto currently sits sixth with the man advantage, sporting an impressive 21.83% success rate. As a comparison, the Oilers are operating with a lowly 18.42% success rate, good for 20th in the league. The same story can be said for the penalty kill as the Maple Leafs’ 81.05% is good for 15th in the league, while the Oilers 72.16% ranks them dead last.

2. The Oilers improved their goal differential a fair chunk with yesterday’s win over Montreal. They went from having a -16 on the year to a -12 (86GF, 98GA) which is nothing to write home about just yet, but certainly improving. Meanwhile, the Leafs have no troubles scoring goals as their +17 goal differential (105GA, 88GA) is the polar opposite of what has happened in Edmonton. It’s a lot easier to win games when you’re (almost) scoring an extra goal every night.

3. In their last last 10 games, the Leafs are 6-3-1 and are coming into tonight’s matchup riding a two-game winning streak. The Oilers, on the other hand, haven’t been falling behind the pack but they haven’t been making ground either. Edmonton comes into tonight’s game with a 5-5-0 record in their last 10 games.

4. According to Corsica, the Oilers have the edge in CF% as their 53.6% has them in 2nd place compared to the Leafs’ 50.3% which is good for 14th overall. These numbers would be more impressive for Edmonton if the goal differentials weren’t polar opposites.

5. ‘Member that time Brendan Shanahan liked Travis Yost’s tweet about Chiarelli trading Nuge for a third pairing defenceman and we found it? ‘Member how we posted a screen cap and it blew up on our Instagram and then a day later he took it down? I ‘member. I know that has nothing to do with anything but I still felt like it should be mentioned. Thank you.

Lucic-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Maroon-Nuge-Cammalleri
Caggiula-Draisaitl-Strome
Khaira-Letestu-Kassian

Nurse-Russell
Klefbom-Benning
Auvitu-Davidson

At the time of posting, there hadn’t been any indication on what the lines would look like (I’ll update if anything comes out), so I’m assuming they’ll go with the same group as yesterday. What’s surprising is that Laurent Brossoit will be getting the start on back-to-back nights. I thought for sure that we were going to see Ellis this weekend, but clearly, the Oilers don’t trust him enough to give him as they go back to LB for the second time in 24 hours. The stats show that using your goaltender for back-to-back starts isn’t the greatest idea, but, then again, do you want Ellis getting thrown to the wolves? I guess not.

Hyman-Matthews-Brown
Marleau-Kadri-Komarov
Van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner
Martin-Moore-Nylander

Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Borgman-Polak

McElhinney

Curtis McElhinney will get only his fifth start of the season today, and that means the Oilers need to test him early and often. Frankly, I’m pumped to see McElhinney get the start because Freddie Andersen has been on fire lately. Then again, the Oilers do have the ability to make opposing goaltenders look like Vezina candidates.

From theLeafsNation:

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Comparisons will be made, Leafs fans will be annoying, but it’s the Oilers that walk away with a 4-3 victory.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: For hours before puck drop, we’ll have to hear about the “battle” between Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. Both players shine. Neither cares about the hype heading into the game.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Nazem Kadri gets called multiple times for his incessant clutching and grabbing.

Take home a growler, a crowler, a sixer, a mixer, whatever. Sherbrooke Liquor. Where’s Your Beer?