The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their California trip with a stop in San Jose to face the Sharks. This season, Toronto has fallen well short of expectations, and realistically, they aim to finish in the bottom five to protect their first-round pick for the upcoming draft. While they won’t intentionally try to lose, their effort most nights has been commendable. However, they allow the most shots against while generating few quality chances.
The Sharks are playing their second game in as many nights and their third in four days. Even if fatigue begins to set in, this team will want to give it their all. They have won three consecutive games and find themselves back in the playoff hunt. It may be cliché, but every game down the stretch feels like a “must-win” for them. They have a chance to secure two more points against a weaker opponent at home, where they have a solid 19-12-5 record. Expect to see urgency from San Jose right from the opening puck drop.
Maple Leafs vs Sharks prediction: Sharks ML (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number or better.