Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Nylander, Woll & the Troubled Canucks – The Hockey Writers Toronto Maple Leafs Latest News, Analysis & More

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back home and ready to face the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. This is a Canucks team that is desperate to snap a four-game losing streak, but two things are going wrong for the Pacific Coast team.

One is on the ice, where the team is wrapped up in a rough five-game road trip. The Canucks are better than their 0-1-2 record so far. They simply can’t seem to get their offense revved up. It’s been ice-cold. A single goal in their last two games won’t win many hockey games. Stretched out longer, the Canucks have only put up five goals in their past four. Second, the turmoil silently raging through the team seems to have dispirited them. The word is that two of their biggest stars – Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller – are having a rift. Trade rumors abound. That kind of internal turmoil can’t be good for a team.

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This is the team the Maple Leafs will meet tonight. But Toronto has its own troubles, immediate as they are. After a solid five-game winning streak, the Blue and White went south (literally and metaphorically) on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Maple Leafs stumbled big time and got blown out of the building by the Hurricanes. So they are far from on a heater, as well.

However, the rugged 6-3 loss to Carolina exposed a Maple Leafs weakness. They were overwhelmed by a laborious Carolina checking game, and their five-game winning streak was gone. The first line—Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies—was overwhelmed. Still, two good things happened. William Nylander broke an eight-game scoring drought, and Nicholas Robertson also scored.

After the game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube criticized his team for leaving the slot wide open and spending too much time stuck in its defensive zone. What Maple Leafs team shows up tonight will be a key to who wins.

Game Question One: Can William Nylander Stay Hot?

If Nylander is heating up again, that would be good news for Maple Leafs fans. Given his history of flashing hot and cold, Nylander could be primed for an offensive run after scoring against the Hurricanes. It turns out that a one-on-one chat with Craig Berube might have sparked some pushback from the talented Swede.

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Berube encouraged Nylander to be more aggressive and stop waiting for scoring chances to come to him. Nylander took the ice and fired a shot past the Hurricanes goalie. Was it really that easy? We’ll see tonight. With 24 goals and 20 assists in 43 games, even with his recent slump, Nylander has been a huge part of Toronto’s offense. If he can remain in attack mode and the Canucks’ defense struggles, Vancouver could be in for a long night.

Game Question Two: Can Joseph Woll Bounce Back?

Joseph Woll will be on the hot seat tonight. He’s done an admirable job holding down the fort with Anthony Stolarz out with a knee injury, but his last game was rough. Woll allowed five goals in the loss to Carolina—a few he’d like back.

Before that loss, Woll was on fire. He won five straight games with a .934 save percentage and only 10 goals allowed on 152 shots. One rotten night didn’t erase all the good he’s done, but tonight’s game is a perfect chance to see what the youngster is made of. Can he reset? On paper, given the Canucks’ scoring struggles, Woll should have an excellent shot to get back on track and help the Maple Leafs kick off their homestand in a positive way.

What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

This is Toronto and Vancouver’s first meeting this season, and both teams have something to prove. The Maple Leafs want to tighten up defensively and kick off their three-game homestand with a win. On the other hand, the Canucks are desperate to turn things around and salvage their road trip.

One thing’s for sure. When these two Canadian teams meet, the result could get interesting.