Early look The full preview opens on Wednesday 10 March, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs: game preview

Puck drop13 Mar · 7:00 PM ET
VenueScotiabank Arena
All-time meetings174 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Twenty points apart last season

Vancouver finished last season 32nd in the league on 58 points. Toronto finished 28th on 78.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 175

Across 174 completed games, Vancouver lead the head-to-head 91-72-11.

All-time record91-72-11Vancouver's record in the series
Meetings played174This is number 175
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Vancouver
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
31 Jan 2026TOR 3 – VAN 2 SO——TOR
10 Jan 2026VAN 0 – TOR 5——TOR
8 Feb 2025TOR 1 – VAN 2——VAN
11 Jan 2025VAN 3 – TOR 0——VAN
20 Jan 2024TOR 4 – VAN 6——VAN
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateVancouverToronto
10 Jan 202616-23-5 · 37 pts32nd22-15-7 · 51 pts14th
31 Jan 202617-30-5 · 39 pts32nd24-19-9 · 57 pts18th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 10 Jan 2026, Vancouver were 32nd in the league and Toronto 14th. By 31 Jan 2026 it was 32nd and 18th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Toronto out-attempted Vancouver 136 to 126

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Vancouver Canucks

126 att · 59 on goal · 2 G · 3.4%
Crease16 att · 0 G
Slot42 att · 2 G
Wing45 att · 0 G
Point18 att · 0 G
Neutral zone5 att · 0 G

Toronto Maple Leafs

136 att · 65 on goal · 7 G · 10.8%
Crease10 att · 2 G
Slot52 att · 3 G
Wing48 att · 2 G
Point19 att · 0 G
Neutral zone7 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Vancouver and Toronto are level on chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

VancouverToronto
2.44xG for per game3.40
3.15xG against per game3.21
43.6%xG share51.4%
+9.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals−2.6
−5.4GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+1.9

This season: 4 games for Vancouver, 4 for Toronto. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Vancouver

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2723.1%
Power play · 2025-2621.8% · 14th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2768.8%
Penalty kill · 2025-2671.5% · 32nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.3% · 112/227
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2716 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Toronto

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2721.4%
Power play · 2025-2621.3% · 15th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2790.9%
Penalty kill · 2025-2681.2% · 8th
Faceoffs · 2026-2751.1% · 113/221
Drawn · 2026-2714 (3.50/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2711 (2.75/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
47Paul Cotter44261.50
23Marco Rossi43141.00
34Auston Matthews42351.25
91John Tavares41230.75
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
17Filip Hronek40551.25
5Tom Willander40330.75
44Morgan Rielly40330.75
43Darren Raddysh40110.25
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 11 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 11 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Vancouver crease

VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 10 Mar

Kevin Lankinen.8243 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx −6.4
Leevi Meriläinen.9432 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Toronto in the last meetings.

Toronto crease

TOR · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 10 Mar

Sergei Bobrovsky.8872 GP · 0-2-0 · GSAx +0.1
Anthony Stolarz.9042 GP · 2-0-0 · GSAx +0.6

No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.8 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

31 Jan 20265 · TOR 3–2 VAN
10 Jan 20265 · VAN 0–5 TOR
8 Feb 20253 · TOR 1–2 VAN
11 Jan 20253 · VAN 3–0 TOR
20 Jan 202410 · TOR 4–6 VAN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85
Toronto2.752.753.093.65

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.8Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings5.2Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

10 on the injury lists

Vancouver · injuries

Akil ThomasUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Filip ChytilShoulderIRReturn8 Oct
Jack ThompsonUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Mackenzie MacEachernUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Thatcher DemkoHipIRReturn21 Dec

Toronto · injuries

Cade WebberElbowIRReturn31 Oct
Dakota JoshuaAbdomenIRReturn24 Oct
Elvis MerzlikinsShoulderIRReturn30 Mar
Max DomiBackIRReturn21 Nov
William VilleneuveKneeIRReturn31 Oct
27 Sep · VAN

Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.

25 Sep · VAN

Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).

24 Sep · VAN

Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.

5 Oct · TOR

Placed RW Nikita Grebenkin on injured reserve.

30 Sep · TOR

Moved C Max Domi from the non-roster list to long-term injured reserve.

29 Sep · TOR

Placed D Cade Webber on the injured non-roster list.

Injury report
#3Caleb MalhotraRound 1 · BrantfordC
#24Adam NovotnyRound 1 · PeterboroughLW
#33Brooks RogowskiRound 2 · OshawaC
#41Niklas Aaram-OlsenRound 2 · Orebro Jr.LW
Full draft
#1Gavin McKennaRound 1 · Penn StateLW
#60Alexander BileckiRound 2 · KitchenerD
#69Ethan MacKenzieRound 3 · EdmontonD
#73Zach OlsenRound 3 · SaskatoonRW
Full draft

Updated after every final