Good Afternoon! It’s a Game Day.
The Leafs take to the ice in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia tonight. After a convincing 6-2 victory featuring a Tyler Ennis hat trick on Monday night, the boys in blue and white will look to build off of that momentum in the second game of their Western Canadian road swing.
(The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto’s last 5 games – Courtesy of Oddsshark)
Leafs Lines
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 ZACH HYMAN |
 JOHN TAVARES |
 MITCH MARNER |
|
 ANDREAS JOHNSSON |
 AUSTON MATTHEWS |
 KASPERI KAPANEN |
|
 PATRICK MARLEAU |
 WILLIAM NYLANDER |
 CONNOR BROWN |
|
 TYLER ENNIS |
 NIC PETAN |
 TREVOR MOORE |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 MORGAN RIELLY |
 RON HAINSEY |
|
 JAKE MUZZIN |
 NIKITA ZAITSEV |
|
 MARTIN MARINCIN |
 IGOR OZHIGANOV |
|
The Smurf Line. The 5’9″ Line. Call them what you will, but they’re your fourth line tonight! Frederik Gauthier is out, and goal-per-game Nic Petan is back in, centering Trevor Moore and Tyler Ennis. This is gonna be a fun one.
No Nazem Kadri still, though he did participate in his first full practice yesterday, so his recovery is moving along.
Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott remain week-to-week.
| LW | C | RW | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
 TANNER PEARSON |
 BO HORVAT |
 NIKOLAY GOLDOBIN |
|
 JOSH LEIVO |
 ELIAS PETTERSSON |
 BROCK BOESER |
|
 ANTOINE ROUSSEL |
 ADAM GAUDETTE |
 MARKUS GRANLUND |
|
 LOUI ERIKSSON |
 JAY BEAGLE |
 TYLER MOTTE |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | Defense | |
|---|---|---|
 ALEXANDER EDLER |
 ALEX BIEGA |
|
 BEN HUTTON |
 TROY STECHER |
|
 ASHTON SAUTNER |
 LUKE SCHENN |
|
The Leafs finally get their first look at Josh Leivo tonight, who was injured when the Leafs steamrolled the Canucks 5-0 back in January. They’ll also see another familiar face in Luke Schenn (not that many are around who still remember him).
Jake Virtanen and Chris Tanev, two people who I confuse endlessly, are both injured for Vancouver, as is Brandon Sutter.
Who’s Hot
Tyler Ennis and Zach Hyman have become offensive dynamos for the Leafs out of nowhere. Ennis has five goals in his last five games, and Hyman has three in his last three.
For the Canucks… well, no one has been particularly hot, aside from Jacob Markstrom, who has been a steady presence in four of his last five starts between the pipes. He’s riding a .936 through those games, and a .914 save percentage on the season.
Starting Goalies
The aforementioned Markstrom will duke it out against Frederik Andersen, who’s up to a .924 on the season after a phenomenal performance in Calgary.
Notes
- Rookie Elias Pettersson will face the Leafs for the first time. He was injured during the Canucks’ January visit to Toronto. Pettersson has been cold of late, with just 2 assists in his last five games, but is always a threat.
- Speaking of cold, Auston Matthews is goalless in his last four games. Don’t expect that to last; he’s already at 30 on the season.
It’s a later one tonight, with a 9pm ET puck drop. You can catch the action on Sportsnet.
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