Somehow the Canucks are 17-2 since the 2005-06 season vs the Leafs in Vancouver, and have won the last seven straight.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vancouver Canucks
TV: Hockey . Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: One more game before the 4-Nations Face-Off break. The Leafs are in town and they have won three straight. The Canucks also seem to have found their way — defensively at least. Scoring goals remains a challenge. It would help a lot if the guy being paid like a No. 1 centre would start playing like one again. Beyond that, the Leafs have had little luck in Vancouver, no matter who has been in the lineup, for two decades. Seriously. Since the 2005-06 season, the Canucks are 17-2 against the Leafs in games played in Vancouver.
The fear: The Canucks were pretty terrible even as they defeated the Sharks on Thursday. They lacked speed and aggression in their game. They won’t get away with that against Toronto.
The wounded: Canucks: Quinn Hughes (oblique muscle, day to day). Maple Leafs: Calle Jarnkrok (sports hernia, week to week), Connor Dewar (upper body, week to week), Jani Haakanpaa (knee, week to week), Conor Timmins (upper body,day to day)
The quote: “Their game, the way they play, is aren’t going to change. It’s just new personnel.” — Leafs coach Craig Berube downplaying what the Canucks’ lineup will look like on Saturday, with three new faces and no Quinn Hughes.
The latest: The Canucks made a minor trade Friday, sending Mark Friedman to the Nashville Predators for future considerations. Friedman suited up for five games this season, but fell down the pecking order and there’s now a log jam of defencemen in Abbotsford, so this was an easy move for Vancouver to make.
The projected lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Garland
O’Connor-Chytil-Boeser
Joshua-Suter-Sherwood
Höglander-Blueger-Åman
Forbort-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
E. Pettersson-Soucy
Demko
The prediction: This is going to be a tight, grinding win for Vancouver 3-2.