Maple Leafs at Sharks
The floundering Toronto Maple Leafs seek the first goal of their four-game road trip when they visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Toronto began its trek Monday with a 2-0 loss at Los Angeles and again failed to score two nights later as it dropped a 4-0 decision in Anaheim. The Maple Leafs have lost 10 of their last 13 overall contests and netted a total of two goals in their last four road games - all losses.
San Jose looks to snap a three-game slide at SAP Center as it begins a season-high seven-game homestand. The Sharks have scored a total of four goals during the home skid, which has followed an eight-game winning streak in San Jose that featured a perfect five-game homestand from Dec. 9-20. San Jose halted a two-game overall skid Tuesday with a 3-2 triumph at Arizona as defenseman Brenden Dillon snapped a tie 5:15 into the third period with his first tally of the campaign.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TSN4 (Toronto), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (22-19-3): Toronto was without Leo Komarov on Wednesday as the center was sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered in the loss to the Kings. The 27-year-old native of Estonia has collected five goals and 13 assists in 29 games this campaign after spending last season in the Kontinental Hockey League. Komarov has gone five contests without a goal after registering four in his previous four games.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (23-16-5): Joe Pavelski avoided his first three-game point drought of the season by scoring his team-leading 22nd goal Tuesday. The 30-year-old Wisconsin native has gone two contests without landing on the scoresheet just three times in 2014-15. Rookie Melker Karlsson failed to tally against the Coyotes, ending his five-game goal-scoring streak.
OVERTIME
1. Pavelski leads the NHL with 11 power-play goals.
2. Toronto LW David Booth likely will miss the contest against San Jose after being helped off the ice following an elbow to the chin from Anaheim's Sami Vatanen midway through the third period Wednesday.
3. Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel needs one tally to reach the 20-goal plateau for the seventh consecutive season.