Maple Leafs at Sharks preview
Toronto eyes fourth straight victory; Thornton to play 1,100th game with San Jose
by Ross McKeon / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
MAPLE LEAFS (35-23-8) at SHARKS (28-33-4)
10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSCA, SNO, NHL.TV
The Game
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to extend their winning streak to four games and solidify their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division when they visit the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs, who have won three straight after going 2-4-0 in their previous six games, are nine points behind the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic and five points ahead of the fourth-place Florida Panthers.
Goalie Jack Campbell will start for Toronto; he made 25 saves in his last start, a 4-2 win at the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 15.
Joe Thornton will play in his 1,100th game with the Sharks, who look to win their third straight following a five-game losing streak. The center is three games shy of tying Scott Stevens (1,635) for ninth place on the NHL all-time list.
Goalie Martin Jones will make his third consecutive start for San Jose; he made 30 saves in a 5-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Players to watch
Maple Leafs center John Tavares has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak and 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 14 games against San Jose.
Sharks forward Marcus Sorensen has four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak.
They said it
"We wanted to get Jack involved. … he's comfortable in California. He's won a game here in San Jose this season." -- Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on starting goalie Jack Campbell
"Toronto is very similar to Pittsburgh in their systems, personnel and how they like to play. The young guys are paying attention, they're not just going out and playing anymore. They're playing more on instincts and not overthinking things." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
William Nylander -- John Tavares -- Alexander Kerfoot
Kyle Clifford -- Jason Spezza -- Kasperi Kapanen
Pierre Engvall -- Frederik Gauthier -- Denis Malgin
Martin Marincin -- Tyson Barrie
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Calle Rosen -- Timothy Liljegren
Jack Campbell
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: Rasmus Sandin
Injured: Morgan Rielly (fractured foot), Jake Muzzin (fractured hand), Cody Ceci (ankle), Ilya Mikheyev (wrist laceration), Andreas Johnsson (knee)
Sharks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Logan Couture -- Noah Gregor
Timo Meier -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Marcus Sorensen -- Joel Kellman -- Dylan Gambrell
Melker Karlsson -- Antti Suomela -- Stefan Noesen
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Mario Ferraro
Brandon Davidson -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Lean Bergmann, Alexander True
Injured: Tomas Hertl (knee), Jacob Middleton (ankle), Dalton Prout (concussion), Erik Karlsson (broken thumb)
Status report
Defensemen Rielly and Ceci, and Mikhevey, a forward, each skated, but none will play. Rielly and Ceci could each return next week. … Melker Karlsson returns after missing four games with a lower-body injury. … Davidson will make his San Jose debut after being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Feb. 24.
Stat pack
Matthews has nine points (seven goals, two assists) in six games against San Jose. … Burns has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 19 games against Toronto.