PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs

The Edmonton Oilers wrap up their six-game homestand at Rogers Place on Hockey Night in Canada against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada at 5:00 MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Maple Leafs

EDMONTON, AB – Make way for the Maple Leafs.

The Edmonton Oilers will roll out the red carpet for Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night when they complete their season-long six-game homestand at Rogers Place with an all-Canadian clash on Hockey Night in Canada.

Expect plenty of blue in the stands and an earlier puck drop time than usual to accommodate the circus that comes once a year to Oil Country when the Buds are in town to face the Oilers. Puck drop is slated for 5:00 pm MT so that our friends from the East can finish watching the game before bedtime on a Saturday night, while Maple Leafs fans in attendance at Rogers Place will still have time to experience ICE District after the game is over.

“Guys are excited. We have the 5 o'clock start time. It's always nice,” Connor McDavid said. “They come into our building and we’ve got to change our schedule around, but it is what it is. It’s always fun to play the Leafs and their big names. They’ve got some special players over there, so it's always fun.”

“It always feels like there’s a lot of Leafs fans in the building and too much media in the room,” defenceman Darnell Nurse added with a smile. “It's just a combination of a lot of things. The games are always fun, especially in the last few years while both teams have been fairly good on each side. So I expect a hard-fought game.”

The Maple Leafs edged out the Oilers 4-3 in overtime during their previous meeting on Nov. 16 at Scotiabank Arena after Leon Draisaitl’s tying goal with 1:29 in regulation forced overtime before Mitch Marner earned Toronto the extra point with the winner only 40 seconds into sudden death.

Earlier in that game, Nurse was forced to leave after receiving a check to the head from forward Ryan Reaves during the second period, resulting in a five-game suspension for Reaves and the Oilers missing their defenceman for the next four games with a concussion.

Since returning, Nurse has been steady on the Oilers blueline as one of their top-performing defencemen, recording 22 points and going plus-12 in 48 games this season to put him level on points with Mattias Ekholm for sixth in team scoring.

Nurse doesn’t want to let the Reaves incident from November detract from Edmonton’s pursuit of two points on Saturday night while his team's in hot pursuit of first place in the Pacific Division, having taken seven out of a possible eight points in their last four games.

“I think I touched on it enough,” Nurse said following Friday’s practice. “Our team, we're trying to chase down first in our division and we have so much more to play for, and I think with a really good team coming in here in Toronto with a lot of skill and a lot of firepower, one of my jobs is to go out there and play against some of the best and don't want to take myself out of that situation and hurt our team.”

While it was tough to watch, McDavid agrees with Nurse that victory on Saturday night outweighs vengeance.

“We never liked seeing something like that. I think everybody agrees it wasn't the greatest hit in the world, but at the same time, there's a game to be played and there are points to be had and a big win for our team out there, so we're obviously focused on that,” he said.

The Oilers had their three-game win streak snapped on Thursday in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings, where Leon Draisaitl notched his league-leading 36^th goal on the power play and Jeff Skinner scored in his second straight appearance in the defeat.

Edmonton’s penalty kill went 3-for-3 against Detroit and is a perfect 15-for-15 over their last six games dating back to Jan. 18, including a four-on-three penalty kill that kept them alive in sudden death before Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin each scored in the shootout.

Despite claiming seven of a possible eight points in recent games, it hasn’t been exactly how the Oilers would’ve liked to play. However, the Blue & Orange have done a good job navigating a difficult month of January, which included a 7-2-0 record over a 16-day stretch that included seven road games and a lot of travel.

McDavid says it reminds him of how the Oilers competed during their 16-game win streak last season, finding ways to win and pick up points despite not having their ‘A’ game every night.

“I think we were just finishing up our 16-game win streak and we were finding ways to win games, but it wasn't necessarily our best,” he said. “Obviously, we didn't find a way to win last night, but I feel like the games before that were similar to that, so it’s nice that we're finding a way to get points and climb the standings.

“But I think as a whole we'd like our game to be a little more sound.”

McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins were joined on the top line during Friday's practice by Corey Perry, who's been having a strong season at 39 years old in 2024-25 and earned the trust of Head Coach Kris Knoblauch to be efficient in his average 11:31 of ice time this season.

While Perry was up there on Friday, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch expects different players to rotate into that top-line spot, but Perry has proven to be effective moving up and down the lineup with nine goals and eight assists in 50 games this campaign.

"With Corey, I think he's having a pretty successful year and he's always looking at playing 10 to 12 minutes. He's among our team leaders in five-on-five points behind McDavid and Draisaitl and he's probably number three on points per 60," Knoblauch said. "Leon and Connor are going to play 22 to 24 minutes tomorrow night probably. Corey will not be playing 22 to 24 minutes, so it'll be more of a job by committee. There are certain guys that will be up in that spot, but there'll be certain situations where we'll lean on him more and other guys in other situations."

Every time McDavid plays with Perry, the Oilers captain sees the former 2011 Hart Memorial and Rocket Richard Trophy's skill and gamesmanship and enjoys being on the ice at the same time as him whenever given the chance.

"He's been great all year; a guy that has played up and down the lineup, but when he gets a chance, he continues to show that he's got elite skill. He's shown that his whole career," McDavid said. "He's so good around the net, great hands, crafty, smart, and you just have to get them to puck in a good area and usually good things happen."

Defenceman Mattias Ekholm and John Klingberg both weren't present during Friday's practice due to illness, with the latter blueliner impressing his teammates over 16:31 of ice time during his Oilers debut on Friday night after missing more than a season recovering from double hip surgery.

"It was great to see him in some game action and he's such a smooth skater out there," Nurse said. "His hips look great, and I think he'll gain more and more confidence as he plays more and more with the group. But having him around, he's a great addition to our team. The offensive instincts, for sure [are there] trying to make plays and create space for everyone. It's always nice you get paired with guys like that."