Oilers at Maple Leafs
The No. 1 overall pick in each of the last two drafts will square off for the first time in the NHL when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers pay a visit to Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. It will be a reunion of sorts for the 19-year-old phenoms, who were linemates for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey in September.
"It helped my confidence for sure," Matthews said of McDavid. "He was so easy to play with because he just does everything so well at such a high speed. Playing with him was a blast." McDavid, tied for the league lead with 12 points, has the surprising Oilers perched atop the Pacific Division with a Western Conference-leading 14 points. Edmonton, which had ripped off five consecutive victories until it was blanked by Craig Anderson and Ottawa on Sunday, is kicking off a five-game road trip. Matthews is tied for the NHL league with six goals for the youthful Maple Leafs, who will be happy to be home after Sunday's loss at the New York Islanders kept them winless on the road (0-3-3).
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET; SNOL (Edmonton), TSN4 (Toronto), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE OILERS (7-2-0): Edmonton was on the wrong side of an emotional performance by Ottawa's Anderson, who rejoined the team and posted the shutout after learning his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Masked by the heartwarming performance of Anderson was another sensational effort by Oilers netminder Cam Talbot, who has surrendered only five goals during a sizzling 5-0-1 stretch. Talbot has permitted only three goals while facing 148 shots over the past five games.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (2-4-3): Matthews ranked fourth in the league in shots on goal (36) and is on pace to accumulate the fourth most shots by a rookie in league history, behind some pretty fair company -- Alex Ovechkin, Teemu Selanne and Dale Hawerchuk. Fellow rookie William Nylander has only five fewer shots than Matthews and is leading Toronto in scoring with 11 points on four goals and seven assists. The Maple Leafs have converted 7 of 20 on the power play over the last seven games.
OVERTIME
1. McDavid torched the Maple Leafs in his lone appearance against them last season, scoring twice and adding three assists.
2. Maple Leafs G Frederik Andersen is 6-0-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average versus Edmonton.
3. Talbot is 4-1-0 with a 2.38 GAA against Toronto.