Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Day Headlines vs Oilers
The Toronto Maple Leafs will face off against a newly-rested Connor McDavid tonight as they get set for an intra-conference clash with the Edmonton Oilers.
The game will serve as a triumphant return for McDavid in his first taste of action since spending Edmonton’s prior two contests serving a suspension.
On any given night, McDavid projects himself to be an assuredly daunting opponent, acting as a constant scoring threat at any point on the ice. That’s not new information. Now, he’ll have the fresh legs afforded to him by a multi-game layoff to benefit from, making the prospect of trying to contain him all the more daunting.
Outside of their superstar, however, the Oilers are far less imposing.
Edmonton will enter tonight’s contest sitting 26th in the NHL’s overall standings and 27th in goal differential, with an abysmal -32. Ken Hitchcock‘s team has dropped 12 of their last 15 games – a stretch which also includes two separate losing streaks of five games or more scattered throughout, as well.
Case in point; the Oilers are not good. In fact, they’re downright awful.
Jake Gardiner Out
Mike Babcock‘s announcement that Jake Gardiner will miss tonight’s game due to a continued bout with back spasms was not necessarily surprising. Gardiner has struggled with back spasms for a large portion of the season now, even missing two games in mid-January as a result.
It was the way Babcock chose to deliver this news, however, that raised a few eyebrows.
Mike Babcock says Jake Gardiner isn't playing tonight and adds ominously: "I'll let someone else make the announcement on him."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 27, 2019
A lengthy absence from Gardiner would be a tough pill to swallow for a Leafs team trying desperately to clinch home ice advantage in the postseason. He’s a seminal top-four member of their defence corps who the coach clearly trusts.
Igor Ozhiganov will draw into the lineup in lieu of Gardiner. It will be Ozhiganov’s first taste of action since January 23rd.
Goalie Splits
Frederik Andersen will start tonight in the first half of the Leafs’ current stretch of back-to-back games. Garret Sparks will get the nod tomorrow night on Long Island.
The decision to start Andersen against the clearly-inferior Oilers instead of in John Tavares‘ homecoming the next day is a curious one. Andersen just played two nights ago, and the importance of Tavares’ first game back in the city that drafted him carries a level of importance that Sparks, theoretically, should not be forced to shoulder.
On the other hand, though, this sends a clear message to the Islanders fans frothing at the thought of spoiling their former captain’s return; “we don’t care”.
The Leafs seem intent on treating tomorrow night just like any other late-February contest they’d normally play. That ought to rile up the Islanders fanbase even more.
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Puck drop is at 7 PM.