Fresh off of a 2-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks are right back at it on Saturday night as they prepare to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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In preparation for the game, I asked <a href="https://x.com/Arunthings">Arun Srinivasan</a>, managing editor of <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">TheLeafsNation.com,</a> five questions about this year&#8217;s edition of the Leafs. Here is our full Q&amp;A (Quads and Arun).
All stats current prior to of Thursday&#8217;s games
<blockquote>Quads: What&#8217;s been the biggest story of the Leafs&#8217; season so far?</blockquote>
Arun: Auston Matthews missed 15 games during the first half of the season, and that’s been a defining part of the season. But I really think the biggest story of the season has been the Leafs’ transition to a defensive-minded team under Craig Berube. Toronto led the NHL in 5-on-5 goals last season under Sheldon Keefe, and Berube has instructed the team to play a defensive-minded game, with an emphasis on simple zone exits and a north-south approach.
Despite a wave of injuries to the team’s forward corps, which forced the Leafs to start four AHL forwards through the final week of November, Toronto has transitioned into a defensive-minded team that can close out one-goal games. It certainly bodes well for the near future.
<blockquote>Q: Is there reason to believe they can finally slay their playoff demons with the roster they have this year? What&#8217;s different this year than past years?</blockquote>
A: Toronto is closing out games, and it is receiving elite goaltending throughout the season. You can debate where Joseph Woll ranks among the truly elite, but he has a .937 save percentage during his past four starts, and he’s worked extremely well in tandem with Anthony Stolarz, who was in Vezina contention prior to his injury on December 12.
The Leafs aren’t playing the brand of hockey which made them a scintillating team to watch in the regular season under Keefe. There are fewer spectacular plays, with a pragmatic approach of getting pucks to the net-front taking priority. In other words, they’re playing ‘playoff hockey’ a style that Berube admitted is demanding, but there’s greater defensive responsibility. It can make for ‘low-event’ games, but winning is always exciting!
<blockquote>Q: How have Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson fit in?</blockquote>
A: Tanev has been outstanding. He’s Toronto’s most important defenceman, he’s the NHL’s premier shot blocker and he makes clever zone exits and outlet passes that have led to underrated offensive returns. He has been the top line right-shot defenceman this team has sorely lacked during Matthews and Marner’s nine seasons with the Leafs. Toronto sports a plus-nine goal differential and a 53.5 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice, prior to Thursday’s game against Carolina. That likely undersells his impact. He’s been tremendous, and his value grows tenfold with Jake McCabe out of the lineup through January 12.
Ekman-Larsson’s impact has been more understated but he plays like a true No. 4 and he demands accountability from his teammates, coming off a Cup victory with the Florida Panthers last summer. He has functioned as Toronto’s power play quarterback at times, to mixed effect, but he’s become a more willing shooter since the third week of December. He’s also provided an underrated mean streak, and has met expectations thus far.
<blockquote>Q: What&#8217;s the deal with Auston Matthews? Are you expecting him to play vs. Vancouver?</blockquote>
Matthews should play Saturday. He’s recorded two goals and seven points in three games since returning to the lineup on January 4 against the Boston Bruins.
As for what’s the deal with him, well, that’s more complicated! Matthews missed nine games through November, and six games through December and January with an upper-body injury, after aggravating it on a cross-check from Buffalo Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert on December 20. He often looked fine during November practice sessions and I wrote as much, but during mid-December, something looked off — which was evident on December 18 against the Dallas Stars.
He skated through December and it appeared to be a pain tolerance issue. Matthews was skating and shooting with his regular velocity but needed some breaks in between drills. When he took the ice during morning skate on Saturday, he looked like his normal self, ripping a shot off the cross bar and in during line rushes. Long story short, he looks fine again! But he will have to be load managed during the second half of the season, to ensure he doesn’t aggravate a lingering upper-body issue, which often seems to be affecting his shot more than his skating.
<blockquote>Q: Who are some of the lesser talked about Leafs that Canucks fans should be on the lookout for on Saturday?</blockquote>
Bobby McMann has become an essential part of the lineup, and he will either remain on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander, or will drop back to the third line, likely with Max Domi and Nick Robertson. McMann boasts elite speed, he can play with physicality and he ranks 24th in goals for per/60 among all qualified skaters — for our purposes, 200 minutes or greater at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick. He’s the guy to watch outside of the core — Philippe Myers has shown rapid improvement through December with a booming shot, but he’s also focus on simplifying his game.
END OF CONVERSATION
Puck drop between the Canucks and Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada is scheduled for shortly after 4 PM from Scotiabank Arena. For more coverage, lineup news, and more from a Leafs-centric perspective (because who can&#8217;t get enough of that, right?!) <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">head on over to theleafsnation.com!</a>
Sponsored by bet365
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Fresh off of a 2-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks are right back at it on Saturday night as they prepare to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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&nbsp;

In preparation for the game, I asked <a href="https://x.com/Arunthings">Arun Srinivasan</a>, managing editor of <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">TheLeafsNation.com,</a> five questions about this year's edition of the Leafs. Here is our full Q&amp;A (Quads and Arun).

All stats current prior to of Thursday's games
<blockquote>Quads: What's been the biggest story of the Leafs' season so far?</blockquote>
Arun: Auston Matthews missed 15 games during the first half of the season, and that’s been a defining part of the season. But I really think the biggest story of the season has been the Leafs’ transition to a defensive-minded team under Craig Berube. Toronto led the NHL in 5-on-5 goals last season under Sheldon Keefe, and Berube has instructed the team to play a defensive-minded game, with an emphasis on simple zone exits and a north-south approach.

Despite a wave of injuries to the team’s forward corps, which forced the Leafs to start four AHL forwards through the final week of November, Toronto has transitioned into a defensive-minded team that can close out one-goal games. It certainly bodes well for the near future.
<blockquote>Q: Is there reason to believe they can finally slay their playoff demons with the roster they have this year? What's different this year than past years?</blockquote>
A: Toronto is closing out games, and it is receiving elite goaltending throughout the season. You can debate where Joseph Woll ranks among the truly elite, but he has a .937 save percentage during his past four starts, and he’s worked extremely well in tandem with Anthony Stolarz, who was in Vezina contention prior to his injury on December 12.

The Leafs aren’t playing the brand of hockey which made them a scintillating team to watch in the regular season under Keefe. There are fewer spectacular plays, with a pragmatic approach of getting pucks to the net-front taking priority. In other words, they’re playing ‘playoff hockey’ a style that Berube admitted is demanding, but there’s greater defensive responsibility. It can make for ‘low-event’ games, but winning is always exciting!
<blockquote>Q: How have Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson fit in?</blockquote>
A: Tanev has been outstanding. He’s Toronto’s most important defenceman, he’s the NHL’s premier shot blocker and he makes clever zone exits and outlet passes that have led to underrated offensive returns. He has been the top line right-shot defenceman this team has sorely lacked during Matthews and Marner’s nine seasons with the Leafs. Toronto sports a plus-nine goal differential and a 53.5 percent share of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice, prior to Thursday’s game against Carolina. That likely undersells his impact. He’s been tremendous, and his value grows tenfold with Jake McCabe out of the lineup through January 12.

Ekman-Larsson’s impact has been more understated but he plays like a true No. 4 and he demands accountability from his teammates, coming off a Cup victory with the Florida Panthers last summer. He has functioned as Toronto’s power play quarterback at times, to mixed effect, but he’s become a more willing shooter since the third week of December. He’s also provided an underrated mean streak, and has met expectations thus far.
<blockquote>Q: What's the deal with Auston Matthews? Are you expecting him to play vs. Vancouver?</blockquote>
Matthews should play Saturday. He’s recorded two goals and seven points in three games since returning to the lineup on January 4 against the Boston Bruins.

As for what’s the deal with him, well, that’s more complicated! Matthews missed nine games through November, and six games through December and January with an upper-body injury, after aggravating it on a cross-check from Buffalo Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert on December 20. He often looked fine during November practice sessions and I wrote as much, but during mid-December, something looked off — which was evident on December 18 against the Dallas Stars.

He skated through December and it appeared to be a pain tolerance issue. Matthews was skating and shooting with his regular velocity but needed some breaks in between drills. When he took the ice during morning skate on Saturday, he looked like his normal self, ripping a shot off the cross bar and in during line rushes. Long story short, he looks fine again! But he will have to be load managed during the second half of the season, to ensure he doesn’t aggravate a lingering upper-body issue, which often seems to be affecting his shot more than his skating.
<blockquote>Q: Who are some of the lesser talked about Leafs that Canucks fans should be on the lookout for on Saturday?</blockquote>
Bobby McMann has become an essential part of the lineup, and he will either remain on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander, or will drop back to the third line, likely with Max Domi and Nick Robertson. McMann boasts elite speed, he can play with physicality and he ranks 24th in goals for per/60 among all qualified skaters — for our purposes, 200 minutes or greater at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick. He’s the guy to watch outside of the core — Philippe Myers has shown rapid improvement through December with a booming shot, but he’s also focus on simplifying his game.

END OF CONVERSATION

Puck drop between the Canucks and Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada is scheduled for shortly after 4 PM from Scotiabank Arena. For more coverage, lineup news, and more from a Leafs-centric perspective (because who can't get enough of that, right?!) <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">head on over to theleafsnation.com!</a>

Sponsored by bet365
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