Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
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The anticipated showdown in the National Hockey League’s North Division has not materialized as the Toronto Maple Leafs have blanked the Edmonton Oilers in back-to-back contests.
Going into a 3 game head-to-head at Edmonton, the Oilers, who were on a 5 game win streak, were sitting just 4 points back of Toronto.
But the Leafs quashed any Oiler thoughts of bypassing Toronto out west with a pair of thorough shutout victories ( 4-0 & 3-0 )
There are a number of remarkable aspects to the past 2 Leaf victories.
First, neither shutout was pitched by # 1 netminder Frederik Andersen.
Backup Jack Campbell, who hadn’t played in a month due to injury, posted the Saturday shutout and then Monday night, 3rd stringer Michael Hutchinson followed suit.
It’s also notable, the Leafs won those games without star forward Auston Matthews, and managed to outscore the Oilers whose lineup features Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl by a combined count of 6-0.
Toronto plays game 3 of a 5 game Western Canada road swing tonight when they meet the Oilers again, followed by 2 more at Vancouver.
When this segment concludes, the Leafs season essentially will be half over and if they increase their lead atop the North Division through this stretch, it’s hard to imagine anyone catching Toronto, especially if they get healthy and have all hands on deck going forward.
For Pete’s Auto Body I’m Fred Wallace