Analyzing the Toronto Maple Leafs Crucial Road Trip Ahead

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL, which is going to make this game so much more exciting to watch.

Connor McDavid is doing Connor McDavid things, and Leon Draisaitl is making the case for himself to be in the conversation for the Selke Trophy this season, while also jockeying back and forth for first in points with McDavid.

With the best power play in the league, and the second-best penalty kill, the Oilers have still continued to play well even in the absence of Zack Kassian and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, some of their most key offensive players. These injuries have forced Draisaitl to be separated from McDavid and centring the second line in between Sam Gagner and Jujhar Khaira, which is a significant downgrade to say the least.

The Oilers sit second in the Pacific division and eighth in the entire league, and the Leafs will have to take advantage of their bottom-six core if they want to secure two points against them.

While no current timeline of Nugent-Hopkins’ return, the poor offensive depth of the Oilers is set to be exposed throughout the next few games. This means that the Leafs will need big performances from guys like Kasperi Kapanen and Alex Kerfoot, who both have been struggling to produce offensively as of late, to try and take advantage of as much time as possible that McDavid and Draisaitl are on the bench.

According to Money Puck, the Toronto Maple Leafs now only have a 36% chance of making the playoffs.   The Athletic has them much, much higher.

While the next couple of weeks could seriously change the way that number looks because of how gifted this team is, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to stop expecting wins to come easily, and worry about one game at a time.