In the midst of a 3-10-2 slump, the Vancouver Canucks begin what very well could be a make-it-or-break-it five-game homestand on Thursday night when they host the North Division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs.

It will be the first of a back-to-back against the red-hot Maple Leafs, who finished off a three-game road sweep of third-place Edmonton in convincing fashion with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night. Toronto, which played the first two games of that series minus NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews, outscored Connor McDavid and company, 13-1, in the series.

Vancouver, expected to contend in the North after taking the Vegas Golden Knights to seven games in the second round of the Western Conference portion of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, finds itself five points behind Montreal for fourth place and the final playoff spot in the North with the Canadiens also holding five games in hand. And with just 30 games remaining in an abbreviated 56-game schedule, the Canucks are in a dire need of a lengthy winning streak.