Sharks at Leafs: Lines, gamethread, and where to watch

The Sharks (21-12-4, 3rd Pacific) will try for their fifth win in six games tonight with a visit to Toronto to take on the recently struggling Maple Leafs (23-16-2, 3rd Atlantic). The new home of old friend and breaker of hearts Patrick Marleau, while comfortably ensconced in a playoff position with a nine point lead over the fourth place Florida Panthers, has fizzled lately, going 3-6-1 in their last ten games. Before we celebrate, though, the most recent leg of that sample included games against the top two teams in the NHL in the Lightning and Golden Knights (seriously).

Before that, however, the Leafs left points on the table across from some less intimidating foes, posting regulation losses to Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Detroit. This is a team still searching for consistency, a factor upon which the Sharks may be able to capitalize.

After a submissive 6-0 shut out at the hands of the Dallas Stars on New Year's Eve, the Sharks turned the tables on the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night, and came away with a dominant 4-1 win. If there is such a thing as momentum from game to game, the Sharks have it in spades. Keeping the Leafs' forwards off the board and getting someone in Frederik Andersen's eyes will be the name of tonight's game, and if the Sharks look anything like they did Tuesday evening, they should be able to give these kids a game.

Sharks Lines

Timo Meier -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski

Tomas Hertl -- Logan Couture -- Joonas Donskoi

Mikkel Boedker -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc

Marcus Sorensen -- Joel Ward -- Melker Karlsson

Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns

Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun

Joakim Ryan -- Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

Scratched: Jannik Hansen, Tim Heed, Paul Martin

Injured: Barclay Goodrow (upper body)

No lineup changes tonight other than Jones in net, according to head coach Peter DeBoer. This means Heed is still scratched for an inexplicably ever present Dylan DeMelo. Goodrow could be ready to play as soon as tomorrow night in Ottawa, which could create some interesting decisions down the line.

Maple Leafs Lines

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander

Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Leo Komarov

James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Mitchell Marner

Matt Martin -- Frederik Gauthier -- Connor Brown

Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey

Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick

Andreas Borgman -- Roman Polak

Frederik Andersen

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Josh Leivo, Dominic Moore, Martin Marincin

Injured: Nikita Soshnikov (lower body), Nikita Zaitsev (lower body)

Where to watch

Broadcast: NBCSCA, SNO

Stream: NHL.tv / NHL App

Radio: 98.5 KFOX / NHL App / Sharks App