Canucks at Maple Leafs
The Vancouver Canucks are struggling to ignite a sputtering offense in the midst of a seven-game losing skid (0-6-1) after rallying to victory in the first three contests of their season-opening four-game winning streak. Shut out in back-to-back contests and in four of its last five, Vancouver will vie for its first road win of the season on Saturday when it visits the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"We have to score. We can't feel OK anymore that we had chances. We have to have more urgency to our game," coach Willie Desjardins said after the Canucks opened their six-game road trip with a 3-0 setback to Montreal on Wednesday and a 1-0 loss to Ottawa the following night. While Vancouver is saddled with an 0-3-1 mark away from British Columbia, Toronto has given the fans at Air Canada Centre a thrill by winning three of its first four home contests. Mitch Marner recorded his first multi-goal performance of his career on Thursday as Toronto posted its second straight win with a 2-1 victory in Buffalo. Rookies like Marner in addition to top overall pick Auston Matthews (team-leading six goals) and William Nylander have paved the way for the Maple Leafs, who have received 14 of their 31 goals by first-year players this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (4-6-1): Vancouver recalled Troy Stecher from Utica of the American Hockey League for the second time in a week and a half to address the injuries to fellow defensemen Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. Edler is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury while Tanev (undisclosed) is "something more and will be longer," according to Vancouver's official Twitter account. The 22-year-old Strecher stepped in admirably in his initial stint with the Canucks, playing 54 minutes at 5-on-5 with Edler and being named the third star of the game in two of his three NHL appearances.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (4-4-3): Frederik Andersen has rebounded from a disastrous stretch in his first five starts (1-1-3, 4.29 goals-against average, .851 save percentage) to post a 3-1-0 mark with a 1.77 GAA and .954 save percentage in his last four. "He's been amazing for us," Marner said of the 27-year-old Dane, who made 42 saves versus the Sabres. "He's been our best player on the ice every night and he's been giving us a chance to win. When you have a goaltender like this, you have confidence up front to do things." Andersen has handcuffed Vancouver throughout his career, sporting a 6-1-3 mark with one shutout and a rail-thin 1.16 GAA in 10 encounters.
OVERTIME
1. Nylander is tied with Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel and Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux for an NHL-best seven power-play points.
2. Vancouver's offense has mustered an NHL-worst 1.5 goals per game and its 8.6 power-play efficiency is good enough for 29th in the league.
3. Matthews has been held off the scoresheet in five straight contests.