The Canucks have landed on the east coast, and tonight they play the Leafs for their first of three in a row and nine this season. The Leafs are coming off four days of rest after an overtime loss to Edmonton, and though their last game was a loss, they are on a five game point streak. Meanwhile, the Canucks are struggling this season, and just lost two in a row to Montreal.

While most agree that a matchup against the Canucks should be a fairly easy win for the Leafs, the concern for Toronto is to avoid a trap game. Additionally, four days of rest should have them feeling fresh, but it could also mean that they struggle to start on time and get their legs going. The Leafs need to approach this game as though it’s going to be a tough matchup no matter what if they want to get back on a winning streak.

Sheldon Keefe continues to tinker with player rotations, adding @Nic Petan to the lineup for tonight’s game. The Leafs are still without @Joe Thornton, @Nicholas Robertson, and @Jack Campbell. While @Alexander Kerfoot seemed to be dealing with something earlier in the week, it appears he is good to go for tonight’s game.

Meanwhile, the Canucks are looking to build some momentum and start digging their way out of this early season hole. They had a good stretch of games last week, winning four in a row – but three of those were against Ottawa. They’re likely to come out strong, and unless the Leafs set the pace of the game early it could be tougher than they expect to get ahead of the Canucks. The Leafs have been playing a more balanced game this season, but it’s time for their offensive talents to really get going. This would be a good game for their top lines to score some goals in bunches.

While Toronto continues to rely mostly on starting goalie @Frederik Andersen, Vancouver is using a tandem of @Braden Holtby and @Thatcher Demko, who are almost evenly split between games at this point. It’s going to be a fun game to watch.