No Toffoli against Edmonton

MONTREAL - The Canadiens will be minus a huge piece of the puzzle this week against the Oilers.

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Following Monday's morning skate at the Bell Sports Complex, interim head coach Dominique Ducharme confirmed that 28-year-old right-winger Tyler Toffoli would miss all three games versus Edmonton with a lower-body injury.
Toffoli suffered the injury on March 19 against the Canucks at the Bell Centre, which forced him to miss his first game of the season over the weekend.
"He'll be re-evaluated, but he should be able to return in the days after the series against Edmonton. He got hurt near the end of the first game against Vancouver. We didn't think he'd be available for the overtime, but he told me that he was good to play," explained Ducharme. "He had some tests after the game. Obviously, he wasn't really feeling the injury as much in the heat of the action. But, things got worse the next day."

Toffoli's absence, of course, is a key loss for Montreal.
The nine-year veteran boasts a team-leading 18 goals so far this year, which ranks him second in the NHL alongside Oilers sniper Leon Draisaitl, three back of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. He also sits tied for the team lead with 27 points in 30 games alongside defenseman Jeff Petry.
Toffoli was enjoying his most productive month of the season when he went down.
The former second-round selection had registered 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in 10 contests in March.

Denying Connor and Leon
Stopping the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl is a tall task for any team right now.
The Oilers' captain leads the NHL with 60 points (21 goals, 39 assists), while Draisaitl ranks second with 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists), and the pair has been sensational of late.
McDavid is riding a nine-game point streak, amassing 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) during that span. For his part, Draisaitl has 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists) in his last 10 games.
With respect to McDavid, defenseman Victor Mete knows there isn't a magic formula for keeping him off the scoresheet.
"He's always been the way he is right now. Even in Junior, you just had to get a guy to shadow him at all times, and that didn't even work. Hopefully, we can have a guy on him at all times and try to take away his time and space," said Mete, who went up against McDavid during his most prolific OHL campaign in 2014-15. "I think that'll be the best way, and try to stay out of the box, too. I think that'll help."

It's worth noting that the Canadiens have fared well against McDavid and Draisaitl this season, holding them to a combined three assists in three previous matchups.
But the Oilers are the top scoring team in the League for a reason, and their two-headed monster is capable of just about anything on any given night.
"They're definitely a huge part of their team's offense. There's no doubt about it," said Ducharme, regarding McDavid and Draisaitl. "We always have to make sure to stay active and take away their time and space."
Edmonton, which owns the League's fifth-ranked power play, has won three games in a row and seven of their last nine.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. You can watch the game on TSN2, Sportsnet West and RDS, and listen to all the action on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.