Analyzing the Toronto Maple Leafs Crucial Road Trip Ahead

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 12: William Nylander
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 12: William Nylander /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – NOVEMBER 30: William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on November 30, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Vancouver Canucks

Much like the Blues, the Canucks have been scoring at a high rate as of late. they currently have the most goals for in the Pacific division with 97 and have scored 18 goals in their last four games, but one of their biggest issues this season has been goaltending.

Despite the strong offensive start from the core of Petterson, Boeser, Hughes, and the surprise of J.T Miller, the Canucks are stuck with rotating Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko in net, who are not high caliber NHL goalies.

Markstrom has not recorded a shutout this season, and has let in three or more goals on eight of his 18 starts, while Thatcher Demko is coming into his first full season in the NHL and has allowed 31 goals in his 11 starts.

As mentioned, the Canucks offence has been top notch this year, and while the Leafs defence will be put to the test, the key to this game for the Leafs is to pump as many goals as possible past Markstrom or Demko.

You can count on Andersen to play well after getting a couple of days off from Saturday’s game, and this match has the potential for the Leafs to build confidence offensively.