The Maple Leafs continue their tour of Western Canada with a trip to British Columbia to face the NHL’s top team, the Vancouver Canucks. This is a critical juncture for the Leafs as the playoff picture in the Atlantic Division starts to get more crowded.
These two will meet up in Vancouver on Saturday night, featuring two of the most offensively gifted teams in the NHL. Strap in and get ready for this premier matchup by checking out our preview below which includes all of the odds and key facts that you need to know.
Bet on Maple Leafs vs. Canucks
TOR +110
VAN -130
The Canucks are the home favourites in this one, with the Maple Leafs making a rare underdog appearance on the road.
Maple Leafs vs. Canucks odds
| Maple Leafs Moneyline Odds | +110 |
| Canucks Moneyline Odds | -130 |
| Puck Line odds | Maple Leafs +1.5 (-225), Canucks -1.5 (+185) |
| Total Goals line | 6.5 goals (over -125, under +105) |
| Time/Date | Jan. 20, 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: CBC / Sportsnet Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
All odds courtesy of 
About the Maple Leafs (22-13-8 SU, 13-28-2 ATS, 23-18-2 o/u)
The most fun part about this game is that it features two of the best offences in hockey. The Leafs are 6th in the NHL in goals per game, registering 3.49 per contest. They are led by William Nylander, who received a huge new contract earlier this season. He is tied for 6th in the NHL in scoring, tallying 59 points in 43 games to date.
Not far below him is superstar Auston Matthews. He has 54 points through 42 games, but the more impressive stat is his league-leading 37 goals. He picked up his fourth hat trick of the season in a win against the Flames on Thursday night, setting him on a pace for 71 goals over the course of the season. Nobody has scored 70 goals since the 1992-93 season.
The real problem for the Maple Leafs is two-fold. For one, they have struggles holding a lead. A few recent losses have even brought about criticism of the team and speculation about whether head coach Sheldon Keefe is the right man for the job. The other problem is their goaltending situation.
The Leafs are 21st in the NHL in goals allowed per game at 3.26. Their team save percentage is .901, good for 20th in the NHL. Martin Jones has been fine since jumping in following the Joseph Woll injury, but the real focal point has been Ilya Samsonov. He is 5-3-6 with a whopping 3.88 GAA and a putrid .863%. Those numbers are not good enough to help the Leafs be true contenders.
The Leafs aren’t going to outscore their problems. While at the heart of it all, nothing matters until the playoffs come, the team needs to show that it can produce strong enough goaltending to make a deep run into the Conference or Stanley Cup Finals. Until that happens, the Leafs will be an incredibly talented “What if?”
About the Canucks (30-11-4 SU, 30-15 ATS, 27-16-2 o/u)
The Canucks, sitting atop the Pacific Division with an NHL-best 64 points, have been a surprising but fun storyline this season. They finished 6th in the Pacific and 10th in the Western Conference a year ago, posting a very disappointing 38-37-7 record. This year, they’re leading the league and look to be a top Stanley Cup contender.
The first thing that anyone is going to mention will be the offence. The Canucks score an NHL-best 3.78 goals per game. They have four scorers in the top 20 in the NHL but are also getting scoring from throughout the lineup with plenty of depth pieces chipping in.
JT Miller leads the way with 61 points, putting him 4th in the league. Just behind him is Elias Petterson, whose 59 points are tied with the aforementioned Nylander for 6th. Defenceman Quinn Hughes is tied for the league lead in points at the position with Colorado’s Cale Makar (both have 53 points). And Brock Boeser is having a career year with 27 goals and 46 points (tied for 19th).
Defensively, the Canucks are just as good. Averaging 2.51 goals against per game, they trail only the Winnipeg Jets in that category. Their team save percentage of .918 is 3rd in the NHL, backed by the outstanding Thatcher Demko (23-8-1, 2.42 GAA, .919%). The Canucks are simply one of the best teams in the league from top to bottom.
Last Matchup
The only matchup between the Maple Leafs and Canucks this year came back on November 11th at Scotiabank Arena. The Canucks got off to a hot start, getting goals from Pius Suter and JT Miller to bring a 2-1 lead into the second period.
From there, it was all Leafs. Nylander got on the board at 4:56 of the second to tie the game at 2-2. Noah Gregor gave the Leafs the lead with 5:38 remaining in the session with Nicholas Robertson and David Kampf scoring in the third to give the Leafs the 5-2 victory. Samsonov was fantastic in that one, stopping 31 of 33 for the Leafs.
Mitch Marner over 0.5 points
-230
Key Injuries
The Canucks have remained largely healthy across the board. Depth defenseman Guillaume Brisebois is on long-term injured reserve and winger Phillip Di Giuseppe isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break due to an undisclosed injury.
The Leafs have survived a slew of injuries in December and January so far. Goaltender Joseph Woll went down with an ankle injury and is currently on injured reserve but is at least travelling with the team. Defenceman John Klingberg is their biggest loss, done for the season due to hip surgery.
Betting Trends
- The Leafs have been terrible against the puck line this year, covering just 13 times this season. They managed to cover in Thursday’s victory against the Flames, but it was just their first in five outings. They also preceded a four-game cover streak by failing to do so in five of their previous six contests.
- The Canucks, meanwhile, have been fantastic against the puck line. They have now covered the puckline in six of their last seven, the only blemish being a 4-3 SO loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since December 19th, they have covered in 9 of 12 games.
- The Leafs have been decent when it comes to hitting the over but have been hot of late. They have gone over in four of their last six, the only two misses ironically coming against two of the five best offences in the league (Detroit and Edmonton). That said, they are 7-8 in their last 15 games overall.
Player Prop Trends
- Nylander has moved into the elite from a betting perspective with his points prop set at o/u 1.5 (+140). He got off the slide against the Flames, picking up his first points in five games (two assists). Before that, he’d not only scored in five of six games but managed to tally multiple points four times (three points twice).
- Quinn Hughes, whose assists prop is set at o/u 0.5, is 5th in the NHL with 42 assists. He has registered assists in six of his last ten games, including three in a 6-4 win over the Devils on 1/6. He is quietly having a Norris Trophy season thanks to his distribution talents.
- Mitch Marner has been as close to a sure thing when it comes to his points prop (o/u 0.5). He has covered in eight of his last 11 games (his goal against Calgary made it three in a row), with a whopping four points on 1/9 in a 7-1 win against San Jose.
Wagers To Consider
- Ride the Mitch Marner momentum. His points prop for this one will be set at 0.5 (-230) and he’s been a smash play over the last month, so hammer his points prop here.
- The last time these two teams met, they combined for seven goals. There should be no shortage of offence here, so hammer the over (-125) and watch the action unfold.
- The Canucks are the puck line favourites coming into this one at -1.5 (+185). They have been very good covering the puck line recently and will no doubt be looking to avenge their loss to the Leafs earlier in the season. Take the Canucks to win by two or more in what should be an offensive display.
