This is the start of a rare home and home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Today, the Sharks welcome Auston Matthews and the rest of the Leafs into SAP Center for a game that has all the trappings of an upset. After all, the Sharks have lost ten in a row and are hungry for a win. The Maple Leafs are one of the top teams in the NHL and might not take the basement-dwelling Sharks all that seriously. What’s more, it could be a showdown with former goaltender Martin Jones, a player still on the Sharks’ cap books even though he’s not with the team.
The big news for the Sharks is that this could, fingers crossed, mark the return of Logan Couture to the lineup. Couture has missed the first 39 games of the season with a lower-body injury. He’s suffered some setbacks along the way but he started skating with the team a few weeks ago. Yesterday, the Sharks moved Jack Studnicka to the Barracuda, possibly paving the way for Couture’s return.
The Maple Leafs are going for the California sweep. Toronto beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 on Tuesday and the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday. Auston Matthews was recently named as the All-Star representing the Maple Leafs in Toronto for this season’s All-Star game. It’s not a surprise since Matthews leads the NHL with 30 goals. Expect to see other players like Mitch Marner and William Nylander named to the All-Star game soon since Toronto is the host city.
Other news surrounding the Leafs has to do with the fact that young forward Nick Robertson will be scratched for a second straight game. When asked about it, Maple Leafs Hotstove reported that Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said, “With Robertson, there were 24-25 games without disruption. We have a pretty good sense of where he is at. With [Pontus] Holmberg, we just want to give him more of an opportunity. We will give it one more game, see how it goes, and evaluate it from there.”
San Jose Sharks lines versus Maple Leafs
For now, we’ll pencil Couture into the lineup in Studnicka’s spot. Also, expect to see Alexander Barabanov on the top line to start the game. He was moved up midway through the last game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Forwards
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Alexander Barabanov
Fabian Zetterlund – Mikael Granlund – Mike Hoffman
Luke Kunin – Logan Couture – Anthony Duclair
Justin Bailey – Ryan Carpenter – Filip Zadina
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta
Calen Addison – Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Kaapo Kahkonen
Maple Leafs lines today
According to David Alter of Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News, this is what the lines for the Maple Leafs will look like.
Forwards
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Tyler Bertuzzi – John Tavares – William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg – Max Domi – Calle Jarnkrok
Bobby McMann – David Kampf – Noah Gregor
Defensemen
Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe
Mark Giordano – Timothy Lijegren
Goaltenders
Martin Jones
Dennis Hildeby
How to watch Maple Leafs at Sharks Jan. 6, 2024
Remember that it’s an early start. The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT/ 7 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
Today’s game will air on NBCSCA. The radio call is on the Sharks App.
Of course, you can always check back here for all the action and watch the game with the rest of the Fear the Fin community.
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