Oilers v. Maple Leafs - John 9:1-2

As the prophet walked among the people, he came across a team so incompetent and a fanbase so naive that they were mocked by everyone. "Teacher," one of his followers asked, "Why is this team so terrible and this fanbase so blind? Is it because of the sins of the team or the sins of the fans?"

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers

Rexall Place, 7:00 p.m. MDT
Television: Sportsnet

Visiting Team Scouting Report: The Toronto Maple Leafs are every bit as bad as the Edmonton Oilers with the one rather key exception: goaltending. I hate them.

Expected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers (3-8-2):

Yakupov - Gagner - Eberle
Perron - Nugent-Hopkins - Arcobello
Jones - Gordon - Hemsky
Eager - Acton -Gazdic

Belov - J Schultz
Smid - Petry
Grebeshkov - Ference

Bachman

Toronto Maple Leafs (8-4-0):

Van Riemsdyk - Kadri - Kessel
Raymond - Bolland - Clarkson
Ashton - McClement - Orr
McLaren - Smith - Bodie

Gunnarson - Phaneuf
Rielly - Franson
Ranger - Gardiner

Reimer

By The Numbers:

• Sam Gagner returns to the lineup tonight, and should be a tremendous help to the Oilers. Last season, Gagner set career highs in goals per game (0.29), points per game (0.79) and time on ice per game (19:25).
  
• The Toronto Maple Leafs are dead last in the NHL when it comes to five-on-five Corsi percentage of 43.4% (the Oilers are 28th with 45.5%), but are sixth in the NHL with a five-on-five save percentage of .934 (the Oilers are 29th with .899).
  
• Richard Bachman was excellent in his debut with the Oilers, but hasn't been a particularly good goaltender in the NHL. Before playing with the Oilers, Bachman played at least forty minutes of a game twenty-five different times with the Dallas Stars. He allowed two or fewer goals just twelve times in those fifteen games and amassed a save percentage of just .903. Of course... those numbers would be a substantial improvement on what Jason LaBarbera and Devan Dubnyk have managed so far this year.