We won’t get the Matthews vs. McDavid head-to-head HNIC matchup in Toronto this season, but there is still plenty of intrigue ahead of Leafs vs. Oilers tonight at Scotiabank Arena (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
The Oilers are entering the game with an 11/7 lineup, which means they will try to blitz the Matthews-less Leafs with huge minutes for McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as well as Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. In Edmonton’s recent win over the Predators, Draisaitl and McDavid played 25 minutes, while Hyman and RNH played around 21.
McMann-Tavares-Marner, alongside McCabe-Tanev, will be tasked with a good chunk of the RNH-McDavid-Hyman matchup, and a saw-off would be a good result at five-on-five from the Leafs‘ perspective. That means the Leafs will likely need the Knies-Domi-Nylander line to have themselves a game tonight inside the secondary matchups, especially knowing Toronto’s current bottom-six personnel group is bereft of offensive production so far.
Anthony Stolarz returns to the Leafs‘ net coming off of his first regulation loss in seven games through no fault of his own, as the team in front of him laid an egg against the Senators. At the other end, after a brutal start to the season (2-4-1, .872 save percentage), Stuart Skinner has won three of his last four entering tonight but is a career .870 against the Leafs.
Game Day Quotes
Jake McCabe on the challenge of matching up against Connor McDavid:
You have to be aware of him generating speed through the neutral zone and base your gap on that. It takes a collective five-man effort out there to slow him down. Stay out of the box.
Shutting down the opposing team’s best players is a great test for us defensemen, especially, and something I relish and look forward to. It is no different tonight. It just happens to be #97.
It is a little bit more of a challenge than some other players, but it is going to take a group of five out there every shift to slow him down.
McCabe on how much pre-game discussion takes place between him and Chris Tanev about the matchups:
Quite a bit, especially about power plays, more than lines, maybe. We do a pretty good job of making sure we are on the same page about what we are looking for, where we are going to be in certain situations and for certain plays, and what I am seeing and he is seeing. We have been really, really good in that sense.
McCabe on the chemistry between him and Tanev:
He is a competitor out there and makes me want to be better. I hope he feels the same about my game. We are kind of feeding off of each other in that sense.
We relish these chances to go against other team’s top lines. It is our job to keep the puck out of the net. We will continue to do that tonight.
Tanev on the matchup challenge against McDavid:
He is an incredible player. You just saw what he did the other day. It takes a full team to play good defense for 60 minutes against him.
You try to get above him and manage the puck. You don’t want to give them odd-man rushes, especially with three-quarters ice at their blue line. They are a really good transition team. That is where they can catch you.
Jani Hakanpää on the feeling of returning to NHL game action on Wednesday, and if he ever doubted he would be back:
It was unreal. Such a great feeling. It has been a long time coming. A lot of hard work and hours were put into get there. It was special.
In general, I always felt it was coming. You just have to keep working and trust the process. Sure, there have been some moments when you are grinding away back home in Finland and think, “Does it ever come?” But there has always been that overlying trust.
It is like with any injury where you’re coming back. There are days where you’re like, “I just wish I was there already.” It is part of the process. It makes you stronger and tougher. With any injury, once you come out of it, you are better coming back.
Hakanpää on how his knee felt after the game:
Not too bad. It actually felt better than I thought it would. That is always good.
Hakanpää on the challenge of matching up against McDavid:
You have to be at your best. That is the way I would put it. You have to be aware of where he is at and where everything is at on the ice. You have to give it your best.
A lot of times, with him or any other great player, you need all five guys out there on the same page helping out. It is challenging, but it is fun at the same time. It is what you want to do: compete against the best in the world.
Craig Berube on the challenge presented by the Oilers:
They play a very fast game. They are very good off the rush, obviously, with McDavid and Draisaitl. Their D are very active up the ice. We have to do a good job, starting in the offensive zone, of not getting beat up the ice and trying to stay tight to these guys to take away their speed.
Their power play is starting to get going. They are dangerous on it. We all know it. Discipline is going to be important, and our penalty kill.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch on the differences in the Leafs this season vs. last:
You notice it a lot more when you are behind the bench and see it in person, but you can see the team playing very good defensive hockey. They added to the backend, so that has a lot to do with it.
We only watch a handful of games. They are in game #17 or #18 for them. It is an unfair assessment to say, “They’ve changed this much from last year.”
Zach Hyman on the Oilers’ recent 7-3 stretch after their slow start to the season:
Our special teams are starting to come along a little bit. It was a huge strength of ours last year and one of the reasons we were able to go as far as we did. Both were off to a slower start, per se, and in the last couple of games, they have started to come around.
Our five-on-five play has been really good. We are holding the puck more in the offensive zone and creating chances off the cycle.
We are starting to see progress in our game.
Hyman on lining up against Chris Tanev:
He is an amazing player. We train with him in the summer. Gary (Roberts) and a bunch of us do. I have gotten to know him well. Great person. Great guy for their locker room.
On the ice, he is just a warrior. I am sure you guys have gotten a taste of it in the first 20 games or so. No matter what night it is, he is blocking shots. He isn’t necessarily always the most physical presence, but he is always in the right position, always has a great stick, breaks the puck out great, and is just a real good player.
Connor McDavid on whether this HNIC matchup in Toronto carries heightened meaning for him:
Of course. Saturday night hockey in front of lots of friends and family. Of course it means more.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#23 Matthew Knies — #11 Max Domi — #88 William Nylander
#29 Pontus Holmberg — #64 David Kampf — #89 Nick Robertson
#24 Connor Dewar — #18 Steven Lorentz — #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #28 Jani Hakanpää
#95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #41 Anthony Stolarz
#60 Joseph Woll
Extras: Alex Steeves, Simon Benoit
Injured (IR): Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lines
Forwards
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — #97 Connor McDavid — #18 Zach Hyman
#92 Vasily Podkolzin — #29 Leon Draisaitl — #90 Corey Perry
#13 Mattias Janmark — #19 Adam Henrique — #28 Connor Brown
#53 Jeff Skinner — #10 Derek Ryan
Defensemen
#14 Mattias Ekholm — #2 Evan Bouchard
#25 Darnell Nurse — #24 Travis Dermott
#27 Brett Kulak — #49 Ty Emberson
#51 Troy Stetcher
Goaltenders
Starter: #74 Stuart Skinner
#30 Calvin Pickard
Injured: Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson
