The Maple Leafs are looking to enter the Four Nations break on a high by completing a four-game sweep of the West Coast road trip, but they’ll need to snap a seven-game losing streak in Vancouver to do it, with their last road win over the Canucks coming back in December of 2019 (7:00 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC).
Game Day Quotes
Rick Tocchet on a Leafs vs. Canucks matchup on HNIC:
There is a lot of excitement. Any time you play the Leafs on a Saturday night, it is big. They are rolling. They have some special players over there.
We have found our game a little bit. Grinding out a game against San Jose is good for us. Over an 82-game schedule, you are going to play all sorts of different games.
This is a game where we are going to really need everyone playing well tonight. This is one of those games where you can’t have passengers.
Tocchet on takeaways from the Canucks’ 3-0 win over the Leafs in Toronto on January 11:
Every game is different. You can look at some video, but I don’t think we can draw too much. We had a good game, but obviously, Chief didn’t like their game. It seems like they’ve sorted it out pretty well.
This is a whole different game for us tonight.
Tocchet on whether it is more challenging to match up against the Leafs when Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews are on separate lines:
We are used to it with McDavid and Draisaitl. We play Edmonton quite a bit when they are together and when they are not together.
I have to be sharp behind the bench. There are certain matchups you want. Some people say that it’s easier when they’re together. I don’t know if I agree with that theory.
Marner has had an outstanding year. Matthews is one of the best. Nylander seems like he gets a breakaway a game. We have to be careful with that.
Tocchet on how the team has coped with the absence of Quinn Hughes (2-0-1):
It has been a committee back there. The trade has helped us. The young Pettersson has really given us the juice. Marcus Pettersson has given us some leadership and calmness back there. Myers has been playing well in the last month. Hronek is starting to find his game.
If you look at our D, guys are starting to peak a little bit. We need to find some goal-scoring, but the one good thing when we haven’t been scoring goals: You have to keep the puck out of the net, and I think we have done a half-decent job in the last two-to-four weeks — and even since Christmas, in terms of not allowing a lot of shots against.
Tocchet on Elias Pettersson’s struggles offensively:
We spent some time in my offense yesterday. I showed him some power-play video of San Jose. I didn’t have to say anything. He just looked at me and said, “Man, I have to move my feet.” I am glad he is saying it. I don’t have to.
We have to get this guy going, and he has to get himself going. That comes with the territory — dealing with pressure. If you want to be a guy who goes against the best, you have to act like the best, and that means moving your feet and applying yourself.
We have talked about that. I think he is trying to do that. He is really trying to do that.
… I think you learn from the best. When Matthews gets it, you never see him straight-legged. He has his hips down. He is already anticipating. He has great hands, and it is off his stick within half a second. You can learn from that. But it (requires) reps.
Craig Berube on the final game before the break:
The break doesn’t start today. It starts tomorrow. It is a good opportunity to pick up two points in the standings. It is tight. We all know that.
We have to be ready to go. We have to skate, be physical early, and get into the game. That will be important.
There is a tendency to maybe try to get through the game a little bit, but we have to be competitive. That is the biggest thing: Let’s be competitive, let’s skate, and get yourself involved in the game.
Berube on the challenge presented by the Canucks:
They play good defense more than anything. They check well. They’re a detailed team. Their power play is good right now — 25% or something in the last few games. It is clicking pretty well.
The special teams will be important tonight. We have to keep our PP going, and our PK is going to have to be good.
We are going to have to play a smart game against these guys. They are not going to give you a lot. You have to take what they give you, and you have to manage the game properly.
Berube on what he is looking for from the Nylander-Tavares-Marner line in its second game together:
Execution, more than anything. For me, there were some times when they had good situations set up, but they didn’t execute it. The puck execution in the game — the whole game — was not great from us by any means (in Seattle). If they execute, the line can be very dangerous, for sure.
Berube on whether there is a lesson to be taken from the 3-0 loss to Vancouver earlier this season:
That was a while ago, but we do take stuff from there and look at it a little bit. It was a low-event game, for sure. There was not a lot going on in that game. We definitely have to create more than we did. We didn’t give up much, but from an offensive standpoint, in terms of [accomplishing] things with the puck, we weren’t good enough.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (33-19-2) vs. Canucks (25-18-11)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Toronto holds the advantage in four out of five offensive categories, but Vancouver holds the advantage in three out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies — #34 Auston Matthews — #11 Max Domi
#88 William Nylander — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#74 Bobby McMann — #29 Pontus Holmberg — #89 Nick Robertson
#67 Max Pacioretty — #64 David Kampf — #18 Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #51 Philippe Myers
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Ryan Reaves, Dakota Mermis, Conor Timmins, Matt Murray
Injured (IR): Connor Dewar
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Jani Hakanpää
Vancouver Canucks Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Jake DeBrusk — #40 Elias Pettersson — #8 Conor Garland
#18 Drew O’Connor — #72 Filip Chytil — #6 Brock Boeser
#81 Dakota Joshua — #24 Pius Suter — #44 Kiefer Sherwood
#21 Nils Hoglander — #53 Teddy Blueger — #88 Nils Aman
Defensemen
#27 Derek Forbort — #17 Filip Hronek
#29 Marcus Pettersson — #57 Tyler Myers
#25 Elias Nils Pettersson — #7 Carson Soucy
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Thatcher Demko
#32 Kevin Lankinen
Injured: Quinn Hughes
