One last game before the break.
The Vancouver Canucks take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in an afternoon game on Saturday before the entire NHL takes a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. At least, most of the league will be taking a break — the players named to the 4 Nations rosters won't be.
For the Canucks, that means Kevin Lankinen, Elias Pettersson (#40), and Quinn Hughes won't be getting a break, as they've been named to Team Finland, Team Sweden, and Team USA, respectively. Hughes' status for the tournament is up in the air, however, as he's missed three games while dealing with a reported oblique injury and is questionable for Saturday's game against the Leafs.
In other news, can confirm that it's an oblique injury ailing #Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.
— David Quadrelli (@QuadrelliD) February 7, 2025
It's an interesting situation to keep an eye on, as Hughes wants to play in the tournament. It's his first opportunity to represent his country since the 2019 World Championships and an opportunity to play with his brother, Jack Hughes. At the same time, the break would give him a chance to recover more fully from his injury and rest the hand injury that he's been playing with for a month.
All of this is a preview for what will take place in two years when the NHL takes a break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
That will be even more of a priority for the players, as playing for your country in the Olympics has far more resonance than the somewhat gimmicky 4 Nations Face-Off, which has no history or cachet behind it. The Olympics will also involve far more players, as 12 countries will be participating in the tournament.
That means players like Teddy Blueger for Latvia and Filip Chytil for Czechia, two countries excluded from the 4 Nations format. It's tough to see the 4 Nations Face-Off as a true best-on-best tournament with so few countries participating.
In any case, the big question mark for both Saturday's Canucks game and the 4 Nations Face-Off is the status of Quinn Hughes. We'll have a better idea of whether he'll play on Saturday, at least, when Rick Tocchet speaks to the media at 1:30 p.m., so keep an eye on this space.
Vancouver Canucks projected lines
Coming off two wins, the Canucks are likely to keep their forward lines and defence pairings intact, barring Hughes' return to the lineup. The Canucks also have Noah Juulsen and Victor Mancini available on defence, so even if Hughes doesn't return, the Canucks could switch up the defence.
Here are the Canucks' projected lines:
In the three games since joining the Canucks, Drew O'Connor and Filip Chytil have a share of the team lead in scoring with two points each. O'Connor has an empty-net goal and a shootout goal, while Chytil has a goal and an assist, both at even-strength.
Perhaps the more interesting statistic is that Chytil leads all Canucks forwards in ice time in those three games. Chytil is getting far more of an opportunity in Vancouver than he did in New York.
The Canucks' starting goaltender is currently unknown, though it wouldn't be surprising to see the Canucks going back to Thatcher Demko after two excellent starts against the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks. Look for an update after Tocchet's media availability this afternoon.
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lines
The Leafs are one of the top teams in the East, with a 33-19-2 record that has them first in the Atlantic Division by points percentage.
William Nylander leads the Leafs in goals with 33 in 54 games, while Mitch Marner is tops in point with 71 in 53 games. When healthy, Auston Matthews has also been excellent, with 20 goals and 44 points in 39 games. That makes the Leafs tough to shut down, as their top forwards are split across two lines and they have depth scoring to support them further down the lineup.
Here are the Leafs' projected lines:
Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Max Domi
William Nylander - John Tavares - Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann - Pontus Homberg - Nicholas Robertson
Max Pacioretty - David Kampf - Steven Lorentz
Morgan Rielly - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Jake McCabe - Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit - Philippe Myers
Joseph Woll
Anthony Stolarz
The Leafs' starting goaltender is expected to be Joseph Woll, who has a .909 save percentage this season in 28 starts.
Woll has arguably been outplayed by Anthony Stolarz this season but the Leafs have been consistently using Woll as their starter and Stolarz as their backup. With Stolarz getting the Leafs' last start against the Seattle Kraken, they'll likely turn back to Woll on Saturday.
