Maple Leafs at Sharks
While a bevy of rookies have the upstart Toronto Maple Leafs clinging to the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the team is banking on the addition to veteran Brian Boyle to strengthen their grip. The 32-year-old Boyle brings 100 NHL games worth of experience to a young Toronto club on Tuesday as the Maple Leafs open a three-game stretch against the California contingent with a visit to the San Jose Sharks.
Toronto acquired the 6-foot-6 center with a 53 percent faceoff efficiency for a prospect (Byron Froese) and second-round pick of the 20017 draft on Monday. Boyle's postseason experience is expected to serve as a boon for 19-year-old Auston Matthews, who scored twice in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal to become the third rookie in franchise history to reach the 30-goal plateau in a season, joining Wendel Clark (34) in 1985-86 and Daniel Marois (31) in 1988-89. Matthews also collected a goal and an assist in his first meeting with San Jose, but Logan Couture netted the lone tally in the shootout to give the Sharks a 3-2 victory on Dec. 13. The 27-year-old Couture also scored in Saturday's 4-1 victory versus Vancouver, extending the Pacific Division-leading Sharks' point streak to six games (3-0-3).
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto), CSN California (San Jose), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (28-20-13): Rookie Mitch Marner (team-leading 33 assists) participated in a full practice with the team on Monday, marking the first time he's done so since sustaining a right shoulder injury against Columbus on Feb. 15. Marner saw a familiar face in linemate Tyler Bozak, who also returned to practice following a one-game absence due to a finger injury. While Marner and Bozak are expected to provide a jolt on Tuesday, James van Riemsdyk would like to do the same as the veteran is mired in an 11-game goal drought.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (36-18-7): Offensive-minded defenseman Brent Burns notched an assist on Saturday to extend his point streak to five games, during which he has collected five goals and three assists. The power surge has been welcomed by Martin Jones, who has permitted three goals in his last two outings and has yet to lose in regulation in February (3-0-4). The 27-year-old made 29 saves in his last encounter with Toronto and has turned aside 141 of 148 shots to win all five career meetings with the Maple Leafs.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose veteran C Joe Thornton resides two assists shy of becoming the 13th player to reach 1,000 for his NHL career.
2. Maple Leafs G Frederik Andersen has yielded just four goals in his last two starts, but owns a 2-6-1 career mark versus the Sharks.
3. San Jose F Joonas Donskoi (upper body) participated in his first full practice in more than a month on Monday, but has been ruled out of Tuesday's game by coach Peter DeBoer.