Leafs lineup news: Stolarz to start vs. Kraken, Nylander skates among extras

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz will start Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.Stolarz returned to action on January 23 against the Vegas Golden Knights, following a two-month absence while he was dealing with a nerve issue. The 32-year-old allowed five goals on 30 shots, as the Maple Leafs lost 6-3. Stolarz has posted a 6-6-1 record in 14 appearances with an .880 save percentage this season.

William Nylander skated among the extras as a full participant but will not play in Thursday’s game. Nylander has been out of the lineup since aggravating a groin injury during a January 15 game against the Golden Knights. The 29-year-old met with reporters on Monday, discussing his irritation with being out of the lineup.

“Willie’s gone a long time in his career without missing games and it’s been different this year for him so it’s something new that he’s going through,” Berube said Monday. “He came back and then re-injured it again pretty quickly so it is frustrating.”

Jacob Quillan also skated among the extra forwards. Quillan played sparingly during Sunday’s loss against the Avalanche, and was a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

Marshall Rifai skated among the extra defencemen with Philippe Myers. Rifai was called up from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, and could provide the Maple Leafs’ defence corps with some much-needed physicality and net-front defending.

Maple Leafs’ projected lines vs. Kraken

Bobby McMann-Auston Matthews-Max Domi

Matias Maccelli-John Tavares-Matthew Knies

Nick Robertson-Nicolas Roy-Calle Jarnkrok

Steven Lorentz-Scott Laughton-Easton Cowan

Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo

Jake McCabe-Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Simon Benoit-Troy Stecher

Anthony Stolarz (projected starter)

Joseph Woll

PRESENTED BY OFF THE ROSTERIntroducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.