by Canucks Communications @Canucks / Vancouver Canucks
CANUCKS VS MAPLE LEAFS PREVIEW
TV: CBC, Sportsnet Pacific
Radio: SN650
MATCH-UP INFO
- Tonight marks the first of two meetings between the Canucks and Maple Leafs this season: Dec. 18 (home), Mar. 5 (road).
- Vancouver is 4-6-0 in their last 10 games vs Toronto (3-2-0 in their last 5).
- The Canucks have a 69-63-22-3 all-time record in 157 games against the Maple Leafs. Vancouver holds a 43-24-11-2 record at home against Toronto.
- Among active Canucks skaters, J.T. Miller leads the team in career scoring vs Toronto with 21 points (9-12-21) in 28 games.
- Thatcher Demko has faced the Leafs five times in his career (2-3-0) and has a .898 SV% and 3.45 GAA.
- Jaroslav Halak has faced the Leafs 20 times in his career (10-4-5), owning a .910 SV% and a 2.90 GAA.
QUICK NUMBERS
- Brock Boeser has eight points (5-3-8) in his last seven games.
- Bo Horvat has eight points (4-4-8) in his last nine games.
- J.T. Miller has 13 points (3-10-13) in his last nine games.
- Quinn Hughes has 11 points (0-11-11) in his last nine games.
- Conor Garland has eight points (4-4-8) in his last 10 games.
- Thatcher Demko has posted a .959 SV% and 1.36 GAA in his last five games (5-0-0).
LAST MEETING – MAY 1/21: VAN 1 at TOR 5
Tanner Pearson opened the scoring at 13:28 in the first period for his 10th goal of the season…Quinn Hughes extended his point streak to three games with an assist on the play, while Bo Horvat collected the second assist…Brock Boeser and Travis Hamonic led the team in shots (4)…Jayce Hawryluk registered a team-high in hits (3)…Bo Horvat won 13 of 21 face-offs…Thatcher Demko faced 29 shots
LAST GAME PLAYED – DEC. 16/21: VAN 5 at SJS 2
Brock Boeser opened the scoring for the fourth time in six games at 12:41 in the first period, assisted by Tanner Pearson…Bo Horvat capitalized on the power play under four minutes later for his third goal in two games, assisted by J.T. Miller…Brock Boeser notched his second of the game for the eventual GWG at 17:17 in the second period…J.T. Miller and Tanner Pearson registered their second assists of the game…J.T. Miller (unassisted) and Jason Dickinson (assisted by Elias Pettersson and Kyle Burroughs) each added third period tallies…Noah Juulsen led all Canucks in hits (6) and blocks (4)…Elias Pettersson won 11 face-offs…Thatcher Demko made 34 saves.
LAST 5 vs TORONTO
- May 1, 2021: VAN 1 at TOR 5
- Apr. 29, 2021: VAN 1 at TOR 4
- Apr. 20, 2021: VAN 6 vs TOR 3
- Apr. 18, 2021: VAN 3 vs TOR 2 (OT)
- Mar. 6, 2021: VAN 4 vs TOR 3
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Tyler Motte placed in COVID-19 Protocol, Dec. 17
- Madison Bowey recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 17
- Guillaume Brisebois recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 16
- Phillip Di Giuseppe recalled from Abbotsford, Dec. 14
- Travis Hamonic placed on LTIR, Dec. 14
- Luke Schenn, Juho Lammikko, Brad Hunt, & Tucker Poolman placed in COVID-19 Protocol, Dec. 14
BROCK STAR
Brock Boeser collected his 14th career game-winning goal on Dec. 16 at SJS, ranking t-4th with Bo Horvat and Patrik Sundstrom for most franchise GWG before turning 25 years old, trailing only Tony Tanti (26), Pavel Bure (26), and Trevor Linden (22).
BRUCE BOOST
Defeating the San Jose Sharks by a score of 5-2 on Dec. 16, Bruce Boudreau became just the sixth coach in NHL history to begin their tenure with a new team 6-0-0. He looks to tie Geoff Ward (7-0-0, 2019.20 w/ CGY) and Jacques Lemaire (7-0-0, 1993.94 w/ NJD) for most wins to start with a new team when the Canucks host the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Boudreau can also tie Roger Nielson (5-0-2) for most games earning at least a point to start a Canucks coaching tenure.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT
6-0-0
22
10
5-15 (33.3%) 10-12 (83.3%)
Rallying from a 3-0 down after the first period on Dec. 14 vs CBJ, the Canucks earned their first regulation win after trailing by three goals for the first time since Mar. 9/10 at COL. The last time the Canucks achieved a similar regulation comeback at home was Feb. 13/96 vs the original Winnipeg Jets.
TRIPLE THREAT
Contributing assists on three of Vancouver’s four goals on Dec. 14 vs CBJ, Quinn Hughes registered his 10th career game with three or more points, tying Rick Lanz for fourth-most by a Canucks defenceman in franchise history. He now only trails Jyrki Lumme (16), Alex Edler (12), and Dennis Kearns (11).
DEMMER, YOU’RE A STAR
After sweeping the week (Dec. 6-12), Thatcher Demko was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on Dec. 13. Demko went 4-0-0 with a 1.20 GAA, .962 save percentage, and one shutout (4-0 vs LAK, Dec. 6. He also led the NHL in wins (4), shots faced (133), and saves (128) for the week.
SHOOUTOUT SPECIALIST
Netting the game-deciding goal in the shootout on Dec. 10 vs WPG, Elias Pettersson now has nine career shootout goals on 22 attempts, which is third- most in club history behind Alex Burrows (16) and Ryan Kesler (11). His shootout shooting percentage (40.9%) also ranks second in team history (min. 15 shots), behind only Kyle Wellwood (43.8%).
QUINN’S CAREER NIGHT
Quinn Hughes collected a career-high in points (4) and assists (4) on Dec. 1 at OTT, becoming just the fifth defenceman in franchise history to record four assists in a game, and the first since Jeff Brown (0-5-5) on Feb. 20/95. Hughes now ranks t-6th all time among NHL defencemen for most games (8) with three or more assists before the age of 23.
RECENT CANUCKS MILESTONES
- Quinn Hughes recorded his 100th career assist, Nov. 29 at MTL
- Kyle Burroughs scored his 1st career NHL goal, Nov. 19 vs WPG
- Juho Lammikko appeared in his 100th career game, Nov. 14 at ANA
CURRENT INJURIES
- Travis Hamonic – 4 games
- Matthew Highmore – 23 games
- Brady Keeper – 31 games
- Brandon Sutter – 31 games
COVID-19 PROTOCOL
- Tyler Motte
- Tucker Poolman – 1 game
- Brad Hunt – 2 games
- Juho Lammikko – 2 games
- Luke Schenn – 2 games
Total man games lost (due to injuries or illness): 133 games
THREE STARS – DECEMBER
- Demko – 20 pts
- Miller – 15 pts
- Boeser – 15 pts
- Hughes – 10 pts
- Horvat – 10 pts
- Garland – 5 pts
- Höglander – 5 pts
- Pettersson – 5 pts
- Myers – 5 pts
NOVEMBER WINNER – GARLAND (15); OCTOBER WINNER – DEMKO (15)