{"id":440159,"date":"2024-04-22T13:07:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T17:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=440159"},"modified":"2024-04-22T13:14:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T17:14:26","slug":"canadian-nhl-playoff-picture-leafs-oilers-gameday-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/04\/22\/canadian-nhl-playoff-picture-leafs-oilers-gameday-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian NHL Playoff Picture: Leafs and Oilers Gameday News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Two Canadian teams that believe themselves to be Stanley Cup favourites are in action tonight. For the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/leafs\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, it is game two of their series. However, for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/oilers\/\" target=\"_self\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a>, led by superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcdavco01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor McDavid<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">this<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0is the start of their first-round 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoff matchup. Toronto is currently down 1-0 to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/bruins\/\" target=\"_self\">Boston Bruins<\/a> in their Eastern Conference Quarter-final matchup. Also, they have some injury and lineup news that needs to be covered<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. The<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Oilers square off in their Western Conference playoff matchup against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/kings\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In Toronto Maple Leafs News, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/broditj01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T.J. Brodie<\/a> Remains Out<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It looks like TJ Brodie will remain out for Game 2.<\/p>\n<p>The Leafs appear to be sticking with the same defence from Game 1.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonassiegel\/status\/1782430359424262436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">First up in Leaf land, something that needs to be\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">better,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">their team defence.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With that said,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0based on the morning skate, their defensive unit remains the same as in game one.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0It appears as though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/broditj01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">T.J. Brodie<\/a> remains out. In any case, the Leafs cannot be allowing Boston&#8217;s very stringent offensive systems to take grasp of them. The Bruins are able to sit back and\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wait,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and then attack with strength and smarts. All the Leaf defenders, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/riellmo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Morgan Rielly<\/a> to Timothy <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Liljegren<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0have to play their best defensively. Boston further made it difficult for the Leafs defensively, scoring two out of five opportunities on the power play in game one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nylanwi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">William Nylander<\/a>&#8216;s Status?<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">William Nylander NOT taking line rushes at skate \u2026 passing puck with projected scratch Noah Gregor <\/p>\n<p>Leafs showing same lineup as Game 1 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TSN_Edge<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8q2LLjimHF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/8q2LLjimHF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/markhmasters\/status\/1782431049579950327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In terms of injury updates for the Leafs tonight, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nylanwi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">William Nylander<\/a> is the most important one. Nylander was the Leafs second-leading scorer on the season with 98 points. So, he is very important to the club&#8217;s success. Two things we know at this point. First <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">of all<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, he stayed out after practice with the other potential scratches for tonight&#8217;s game. However,\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the feeling is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0they are giving him the afternoon to rest up. Therefore, call him a game-time decision.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Other than that\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ilya<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Samsonov was seen in the starter&#8217;s end during Leaf practice\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">as well<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0on Monday.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0And one final note, based on the projected lines, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcmanbo02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bobby McMann<\/a> again finds himself in the press box.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ilya Samsonov is doing his usual starting routine at Leafs skate <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TSN_Edge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/markhmasters\/status\/1782434858133770722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In More Bad News, Swayman Has Been Red-Hot Against the Leafs<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On the other side of the puck, one\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">thing that<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0remains a mystery<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0is who<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0will start in goal for the Boston Bruins.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0It\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was thought<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/u\/ullmali01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Linus Ullmark<\/a> would start game one, but he never did.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Moreover, since the goalies usually rotated action in the regular season, again, it\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">leads to the possibility of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0him getting the nod in game two tonight.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Conversely, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/swaymje01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremy Swayman<\/a> has been lights out in his\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">past<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0three starts against the Leafs in a month and a half. Over the two regular season games and game one of the playoffs,\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">he&#8217;s posted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0a .969 SV%.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Maybe don&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0mess with a winning lineup if you are Head Coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/montgji01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Montgomery<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Montgomery on the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NHLBruins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NHLBruins<\/a> starting goaltender tonight:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t tell my wife, I\u2019m not telling you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bellefraser1\/status\/1782432435470246026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Edmonton Oilers Start their Playoffs Tonight<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If we\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">touch base<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0on the Edmonton\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Oilers,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0as they prepare for tonight&#8217;s matchup against the Los Angeles Kings, the series should be<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">tough\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">one<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0The Oilers beat the Kings in\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">each of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the previous two first rounds of the playoffs.\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Needless to say,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0the Kings are seeking vengeance. Furthermore, it was one reason they revamped their forward group in the offseason,<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/06\/27\/pierre-luc-dubois-signs-with-kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0bringing in<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/duboipi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Surprise As Emergency Call-up Goalie Needed<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One big key injury note for tonight for the Edmonton Oilers is they will have an emergency call-up goalie. Furthermore, it\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">was not announced<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0which of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/skinnst01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stuart Skinner<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pickaca01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calvin Pickard<\/a> would be determined to be injured. So, it makes the news all the more curious. Ryan Fanti has\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">been called up<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0from the ECHL&#8217;s Fort Wayne Komets. Fanti posted a 9-6-2 record with a 2.75 GAA and .915 SV% in the ECHL this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udd01 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Oilers<\/a> roster move \ud83d\udd01<\/p>\n<p>Goaltender Ryan Fanti has been recalled as an emergency backup. <br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LetsGoOilers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EdmontonOilers\/status\/1782437351303884929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Finally, for the Edmonton Oilers upfront, will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kaneev01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-22_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evander Kane<\/a> be good to go tonight? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/nhl\/article\/oilers-evander-kane-misses-team-practice-ahead-of-playoffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">It was revealed he has a sports hernia<\/a>. In addition, he practiced on Sunday, but no further update on his status for tonight&#8217;s game has been given. Kane is a big-part of Oilers depth scoring, and plays on the second power play unit. In 77 games in 2023-24, Kane had his ninth career 20 goal season.<\/p>\n<p>So stay tuned to see how these and more storylines play out for tonight&#8217;s games. We at Last Word provide all the latest news and analysis on your favourite Canadian teams&#8217; playoff journeys. Stay up-to-date with checking in on us everyday.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Canadian teams that believe themselves to be Stanley Cup favourites are in action tonight. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, it is game two of their series. However, for the Edmonton Oilers, led by superstar Connor McDavid\u00a0this\u00a0is the start of their first-round 2024 NHL Stanley Cup playoff matchup. Toronto is currently down 1-0 to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4222,"featured_media":440052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,23,4547,34,4548],"tags":[7903,138,726,955,72,230],"class_list":["post-440159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leafs","category-oilers","category-hockey","category-news","category-nhl","tag-2024-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-evander-kane","tag-nhl-news","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-william-nylander"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}