Sheldon Keefe would have breathed a sigh of relief as he watched on last time out to see his Toronto Maple Leafs side get back to winning ways. However, they will face a stern test on the road next time out as they face the Vancouver Cannucks on Tuesday evening.
Match Preview
The Maple Leafs brought an end to a two-match skid last time out with a hard-fought win against the St. Louis Blues. The reigning Stanley Cup champions had no answer to the fierce start made by the Leafs.
Toronto scored four goals in the opening period, before effectively putting the game beyond doubt in the following frame. Auston Matthews broke his recent duck by scoring twice in that opening period.
Zach Hyman also scored twice in the game, and there was also one for Jason Spezza. Frederik Andersen made 28 saves in the victory, which brought an end to the Leafs losing run, and put them back on the winning path.
The two matches prior to that, the Leafs lost against the Colorado Avalanche and the Philadelphia Flyers. They conceded nine goals over the run of these two fixtures and only scored on two occasions. A win against the Canucks would put that recent poor form firmly in the rear mirror.
They do come up against a Vancouver side that have been in excellent form over recent weeks. They have won three of their last four. These victories have come against the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres.
Head to Head
The Canucks hold the advantage in the overall record between the sides. They have won on 15 occasions compared to the seven wins recorded by Leafs. Toronto have won the only match between the two that went into overtime.
The Canucks average 3.3 goals in this fixture, while the Leafs only average 2.6. The Leafs have also lost twice in shootouts compared to just the one defeat for the Canucks.
Leafs Team News
The Maple Leafs will be without Nathan Horton, Trevor Moore and Andreas Johnsson. The latter of which left the recent win with a leg injury.
Canucks Team News
Vancouver have a few injury concerns of their own. They will be without Tyler Motte, Alexander Edler and Tyler Graovac for the game against the Leafs.
Prediction
The form of both sides over the last couple of fixtures has been decent. The Leafs end to their losing streak could be a decisive factor, and you wouldn’t bet against them making it two wins on the bounce.
