Our Seattle Kraken just handed the Toronto Maple Leafs a brutal 5-4 regulation loss, and now those Leafs are heading into a tricky afternoon game against the Vancouver Canucks. That L to *our* squad on October 28 has Toronto sitting at a 7-6-2 record, a 0.533 Points percentage, and they desperately need to turn it around today.
Leafs Need to Show Up After the Kraken Stunner
Toronto is in a spot where they cannot afford to mess around, especially after dropping that game to us at Climate Pledge Arena. The source says it themselves: the Leafs need a “big comeback game” against Vancouver. They cannot fall into the trap of taking a struggling team lightly, not after what the Kraken just did to them. They have to come out with fire, plain and simple, or this early season slide could get a lot worse. Chris Tanev, our guy, is officially activated off of IR and looks ready to roll for Toronto’s defense. That’s a huge boost for them. Anthony Stolarz is confirmed as the starter in net.
Canucks are Rough, But Not Totally Out of It
Let’s be real, the Vancouver Canucks are having a rough go. They just lost 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks and their league record is a dismal 3-11-1, for a 0.233 Points percentage. They’ve dropped 11 games already! Is that a true reflection of the team? Well, their 38% Expected Goals For at five-on-five is last in the league, and their Corsi isn’t much better at 41%, also dead last. Their power play is bad, even if they’re scoring at an average rate there. The penalty kill allows the second worst Expected Goals Against in the league, but their team Save % makes it just “bad,” not “terrible.” Only the Ducks have a worse overall Save %. So yeah, their play has been bad. BUT, the source points out they’ve faced a lot of tough teams, including two games against Carolina already. Maybe they are not *the absolute worst* team in the NHL. They even recalled Jacob Quillan, and it looks like he is playing on the third line.
The Lines: Who’s Hitting the Ice For a Crucial Matchup
It is a big game for both teams, each looking to shake off recent losses. Here’s a look at the projected lineups from Daily Faceoff for the Canucks:
* Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
* Liam Ohgren – Marco Rossi – Linus Karlsson
* Drew O’Connor – Jacob Quillan – Jonathan Lekkerimaki
* Paul Cotter – Max Sasson – Arshdeep Bains
* Elias Nils Pettersson – Filip Hronek
* Jamie Oleksiak – Tom Willander
* Zeev Buium – Victor Mancini
* Kevin Lankinen – likely starter
* Leevi Merilainen
And from practice yesterday, here are the Leafs’ projected lines, with Chris Tanev back in the mix:
* Gavin McKenna – Auston Matthews – Jack Roslovic
* Easton Cowan – Nick Paul – William Nylander
* Dakota Joshua – Colton Sissons – Vinni Lettieri
* Brandon Duhaime – Teddy Blueger – Zack MacEwen
* Jake McCabe – Darren Raddysh
* Morgan Rielly – Chris Tanev
* Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Troy Stecher
* Anthony Stolarz – confirmed starter
* Sergei Bobrovsky
The Leafs absolutely have to put the Kraken game behind them and grab a win here. They cannot afford to lose to another struggling team, especially one with Vancouver’s record. This afternoon game is huge for them to try and find some consistency after getting surprised by our boys in green and blue!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pension Plan Puppets.
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