The Vancouver Canucks are set to take over your weekend with two games to close out their Eastern Canada road trip.
The Canucks are fresh off a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night and will continue with their road trip against the Leafs for the marquee matchup on Hockey Night in Canada.
Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner are the leading scorers for the Leafs. On their backend, Vancouver-born defenceman Morgan Reilly has been eating up nearly 25 minutes a night through the season's early stages.
For years, the Leafs' top prospect Matthew Knies has been discussed in the scouting community, and the rookie is now riding shotgun on the Leafs’ first line alongside Matthews and Marner. At just 21 years old, Knies is an exciting young player in this league and is sitting in a plum position alongside two of the NHL’s top offensive producers. Knies is a 6’3” winger who will often be seen around the crease and the Canucks’ defencemen will need to be aware of Knies looking to screen the goaltender for shots from Matthews and Marner.
The Leafs have been playing their run-and-gun style of play but haven’t had a great start to the season. They currently rank 12th in goals scored per game while sitting fifth-worst in the NHL when it comes to goals against. The Leafs may want to make this into a boat race but the Canucks will look to continue to build their identity and play with the structure that has been harped on by the coaching staff.
An impressive buy-in and strong defensive effort from the Canucks has resulted in them ranking second-best for goals-against per game. The Canucks are averaging 2.00 goals-against per game while leading the league with 4.54 goals scored per game.
We have not seen the Leafs pick up a win this season when scoring less than four goals in a game, and that will be a key for the Canucks. Toronto’s offence is potent but the Canucks’ defence has shown to be up to the challenge throughout the season. Saturday will be another test for this group.
A strong first period will be important for the Canucks as the Leafs have been outscored 17-10 in first periods this season while the Canucks have outscored opponents 17-11 in opening frames this season.
If the Canucks can get through the first period with a lead, that should bode well as the Canucks currently hold a perfect 6-0-0 record when they are leading after one period. When combining the goals share of the second and third periods, the Canucks have outscored their opponents by a 46-14 count this season.
Final 40s have been darn good to the Canucks so far this season and a lot of that success comes from the team’s effort to outwork the opposition as the games go on.
As for Sunday, the Canadiens are being led by their young stars, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. The two youngsters come together on the power play and have combined for four power play goals this season.
Speaking of young talent, 2022 first-overall pick, Juraj Slafkovsky will be in the lineup for Montreal. He hasn’t had a great start to the season -- with just one goal and one assist through 13 games this season. Though Slafkovsky only has two points on the year, he is hard to miss at 6’3” and 230 lbs. The young Slovakian is still learning about the NHL but his raw skill continues to show.
Former Canuck Tanner Pearson sits seventh in team scoring with three goals and three assists through 13 games. Another local tie-in is 2019 first-round pick, Alex Newhook. The 22-year-old winger led the BCHL in scoring during his draft year and was traded to the Canadiens from the Colorado Avalanche in the offseason.
Now for the Canucks.
The team is riding a five-game win streak and has not lost in regulation over their last nine games. Even with their impressive run of late, the Canucks stay humble and will look to build on the foundation that they are setting here in the early stages of the season.
It’s a new day but it’s the same hustle for this group.
Rick Tocchet spoke postgame Thursday about the team being able to give his leadership group the ability to work through adversity. He also touched on how the league is now having a bit of a different view when the Canucks come to town.
“Where our record is, teams want to beat us now,” said Tocchet. “It’s a different standard a little bit. It’s only 13 games in but teams are going to be ready for us and we’ve got to make sure that we match that desperation.”
In terms of individual performances, Elias Pettersson capped off a three-point night on Thursday and that gave him solo possession as the NHL leader in points with 24. Pettersson has been on-ice for 14 goals scored and only eight goals against at five-on-five this season.
Another interesting note to follow along with over the Canucks’ strong start has been Conor Garland’s defensive play at even-strength. We are now up to nine consecutive games where Garland has not allowed an even-strength goal against. Garland has only been on the ice for two goals against this season at even-strength and he’s done a good job transitioning the puck through the neutral zone to have long offensive zone possessions.
The Canucks’ goaltending duo of Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith have been nothing short of excellent this season. The duo has a combined save percentage of 0.936% and that will help give an advantage for the Canucks this weekend with both goaltenders likely to get action during the back-to-backs.
The Leafs will be on the second of back-to-backs for the game on Saturday after a game with the Calgary Flames on Friday night and the Canadiens’ workload matches the Canucks’ this weekend as they will face the Boston Bruins on Saturday evening.
Puck drop for both of the Canucks’ weekend games is set for 4 pm PT. You can watch them on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night and will be able to view the Sunday game on Sportsnet. The radio broadcast will be available for your listening pleasure on Sportsnet 650.
