Maple Leafs Hold Key Advantage Over Canucks After Elliotte Friedman's Latest Report

The Toronto Maple Leafs need a big win to bounce back from their 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. Both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were minus-6 on the night, and though William Nylander broke his slump; it was clearly only a consolation.

So headed back home to face the Vancouver Canucks, the team needs to get their act together, lest they feel the wrath of a presumably irate Craig Berube.

They need to come out of the gates firing and get the momentum back in a very tight Atlantic playoff race.

But the team might have one advantage coming into the game that is a rarity but could prove to be one of the best chances they have of securing a dominant victory, according to an Elliotte Friedman report.

Friedman reported late on Saturday morning that the Vancouver Canucks were still enroute from Carolina due to weather conditions preventing them from leaving yesterday.

It's not the longest flight in the world so that is one small positive for the Canucks but they are going to be a tired group of players with a minimal chance at preparation by the time they fully settle back into Ontario.

The Canucks have finally touched ground in Toronto, a mere 6.5 hours before they are scheduled to face off against the Maple Leafs.

Toronto could very well take advantage of a tired Vancouver squad and they should take every chance to pounce on opportunities and wire as many shots at the net with as much traffic as possible.

With the Maple Leafs only four points ahead of the Panthers, it's a crucial game to win in order to keep separation in the standings.

A motivated Toronto team plus a tired Vancouver team is a combination for the team to make a statement and cement themselves as dangerous, even after they falter.

Toronto will turn to Dennis Hildeby to try and hold down the fort, and while his record shows he's been solid so far; this could be a game to get his other stats improved. He has a 3-1-0 record with a 3.23 GAA and a .892 SV%.

The Maple Leafs themselves suffered the same type of delay earlier this season against the Blue Jackets, suffering a loss.

Vancouver will presumably start Kevin Lankinen although that's currently unconfirmed; Thatcher Demko took the shutout loss against the Hurricanes on Friday.

Toronto takes on the Canucks at home in the cozy confines of the Scotiabank Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7pm ET.