The Leafs should have learned a few lessons in their March 1 loss out in Edmonton: In addition to staying out of the box against the league’s best (/historically good) power play, it’s critically important that they force Connor McDavid to spend more of his shifts inside his own zone and that they don’t feed the McDavid and Draisaitl lines with transition opportunities by turning pucks over in the neutral zone.
Edmonton is a deeper team than they were when these two teams last met just 10 days ago; Evander Kane has returned from injury and rejoined Connor McDavid on the top line, pushing Draisaitl back to center on the second line, while big centerman Nick Bjugstad was added to bolster their depth down the middle before the trade deadline passed.