Canucks Gameday Preview: One last clash with the Toronto Maple Leafs

It has not been a good road trip for the Vancouver Canucks so far.

The team is currently riding a three-game losing streak, which includes their most recent 4-1 thumping from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. They’ve been severely outscored, outplayed and out-chanced during that span, and have fallen to the last spot in the Scotia North Division as a result.

It hasn’t been easy for the Canucks, who appear to be battling some pretty serious physical and mental exhaustion as of late. To make matters worse, they’ll be set to play their fourth game in six nights, once again facing off against the dynamic duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Despite all this, the Canucks will enter Saturday’s contest with a few shreds of hope.

Nils Höglander continues to build upon his strong rookie campaign, having notched nine points in his last 14 games.

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Goaltending has also been a bright spot for the team, with both Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko putting up consistently solid performances over the past two weeks. As we’ve seen before, the starting goaltender remains a mystery leading into game day, but, no matter who suits up, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if either of them can (once again) steal a win for their team.

There’s also the bigger picture to be looked at.

With a win on Saturday night, the Canucks would be able to climb back to 4-4 since returning from their team-wide COVID-19 outbreak, a respectable record given the unfortunate circumstances that the players and coaching staff have had to endure.

In addition, one team will be able to crown themselves the winner and come out on top of this nine-game season series, with both the Canucks and Maple Leafs having secured four victories apiece thus far. It’s a far cry from hoisting the Stanley Cup, but beating the Maple Leafs on five separate occasions should put a cheeky smile on the faces of most Canucks fans.

Moral victories, remember? We’ll take what we can get.

With that being said, let’s take a look at three factors for the Canucks leading up to Saturday’s match-up against the Maple Leafs:

Can the stars shine bright again?

It’s no surprise that the Canucks have had trouble scoring throughout the season, but this current stretch of games might take the cake, particularly for Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat.

The offensive trio has disappeared into the shadows during this road trip, combining for only two points to go alongside a putrid minus 13 rating. They’ve been able to register 20 shots on goal during that span, but the majority of those attempts don’t pose much of a high-danger risk for their opponents.

Blueliner Quinn Hughes has had better luck finding the scoresheet, recording one point in three of his last four outings. Of course, to quote Drew Carey, “the points don’t matter”, especially when the other aspect of your game is suffering greatly. Hughes’ defensive fundamentals and decision-making skills continue to plummet, and his minus 23 rating is lightyears ahead of anyone else on the roster.

If the Canucks want to have any hope of securing two points against the Maple Leafs, especially with Elias Pettersson still out of the lineup with a wrist injury, they’ll need their top guns to come up with something to help put the puck in the back of the net.

Is Tyler Motte back on the long-term injury list?

It hasn’t been a particularly easy season for Tyler Motte.

In addition to being one of the many players that had to battle the symptoms of COVID-19, Motte has also had to face a few injuries, all of which have impacted his contributions to the team. As a result, he has only dressed in 24 games, and it appears that he might be missing some more down the road.

Motte left the game in the third period after being on the receiving end of an iffy hit from Maple Leafs’ defenceman Timothy Liljegren. It was evident that Motte was caught off guard during the play, and his vulnerable position on the ice didn’t help the matter.

Head coach Travis Green has not spoken on the status of Motte for Saturday’s contest but should be expected to provide an update following the morning skate. Motte has already previously dealt with concussion-like symptoms this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team handled this situation with caution moving forward.

All of this comes at an unfortunate time, as Motte has been one of the better players on the roster during this road trip.

He is arguably the team’s best penalty killer (aside from the netminders), and he consistently plays with high energy and determination every time he steps onto the ice. Motte also recently found himself on the top line with Miller and Boeser, and he definitely made the most of his promotion. He finished Thursday night with one assist and a plus-one rating in just over 17 minutes of ice time.