Monday to\u00a0win in Anaheim<\/a> where revenge against Radko Gudas and the firing of general manager Brad Treliving\u00a0were\u00a0strong motivation.<\/p>\nBut they gave up a first-shot goal and misfired on many opportunities to close the Sharks\u2019 lead. The California trip concludes Saturday in Los Angeles, another team sure to be plugged in knowing it needs to beat the Leafs to sustain playoff hopes.<\/p>\n
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Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n
Your noon-hour look at what’s happening in Toronto and beyond.<\/p>\n
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John Tavares had the lone goal on the power play, following a near disastrous short-handed Sharks\u2019 try. He\u2019s within one of netting 30, but leading scorer William Nylander could not follow up his four points in Anaheim with anything at even strength and Matthew Knies was frustrated on good looks, too.<\/p>\n
Our takeaways from the Shark Tank:<\/p>\n
JAWS CLOSE IN<\/p>\n
Young,\u00a0hungry\u00a0and playoff bound\u00a0once\u00a0described\u00a0the\u00a0Leafs\u00a0of\u00a0nearly\u00a0a\u00a0decade ago.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s now teams such as San Jose, who showed little wear and tear from travelling and beating Anaheim the night before, while the Leafs had Wednesday off. The home team had more to play for than Toronto, which is trying to impress a yet-to-be named general manager.<\/p>\n
San Jose didn\u2019t even need a point from kid dynamite Macklin Celebrini, who sits fourth in NHL points with 105, the fourth highest single season ever by a teenager with more to come.<\/p>\n
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Fourth liner\u00a0Zack\u00a0Ostapchuk,\u00a0Collin Graf, William Eklund\u00a0and Adam Gaudette\u00a0scored,\u00a0while\u00a0Kiefer Sherwood, second in NHL hits, had the\u00a0Leafs\u00a0looking over their shoulders.\u00a0Though\u00a0Toronto\u00a0kept\u00a0down\u00a0its\u00a0shot\u00a0total\u00a0against\u00a0to 24,\u00a0it\u00a0still trailed in that department\u00a0for the 57th\u00a0time this year.<\/p>\n
The Leafs gave grudging praise to the game plan of the Sharks, where everyone stuck to their jobs and lanes \u2013 the way the Leafs used to.<\/p>\n
STOIC STOLARZ<\/p>\n
Toronto\u2019s goalie Anthony Stolarz was the victim of some early bad luck with an innocent looking cross ice pass that had enough juice to elude John Tavares, Ostapchuk then put it in off Simon Benoit\u2019s stick. Fellow defenceman Jake McCabe didn\u2019t get a clearing feed clean on the next goal and a third hit the backboard, Benoit and Stolarz, in finding its way in.<\/p>\n
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Stolarz, who only had five defencemen in front of him much of the evening after Oliver Ekman-Larsson departed with an upper-body injury, made some nice saves to keep the Leafs in.<\/p>\n
The OEL situation\u00a0bears watching as\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0not missed a game this year because of health.<\/p>\n
Berube, who had been giving more starts to Joseph Woll, came back with the older Stolarz after he helped fuel the emotion in Anaheim and brought a record of 6-0-0 against the Sharks.<\/p>\n
BENOIT\u00a0BELEAGUERED<\/p>\n
While Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo get most of the grief for a decline in defensive play, Benoit\u2019s game has suffered to the\u00a0point of being scratched a couple of games. Both his positional and physical play have not been as noticeable this year, but he still has that reckless streak\u00a0that pays off, making a huge\u00a0diving stick save on Eklund on an empty net chance, then going up ice and hitting the crossbar.<\/p>\n
Signed for US$1.35 million through next year, he\u2019ll have to prove himself again next year, to a new boss and perhaps a new coach.<\/p>\n
lhornby@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\nX:\u00a0@sunhornby<\/p>\n
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![\"Macklin](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2269595728_302406035-e1775214745410.jpg\")
Macklin Celebrini #71 of the San Jose Sharks and William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs go for the puck during the second period at SAP Center on April 02, 2026 in San Jose, California. Photo by Ezra Shaw \/Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.9.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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