Welcome to the halfway point of the season. The Sharks are in Toronto to play the second half of a home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs. It’s game 41 on the schedule which means when the horn sounds, San Jose will officially be halfway through. San Jose lost the first game of this series by a score of 4-1. William Nylander had two goals and an assist. Maybe he should tip the Sharks because just after that game, he signed a new contract with the Maple Leafs.
đ 8 FOR 88 đ
— NHL (@NHL) January 8, 2024
The @MapleLeafs have signed William Nylander to an eight-year deal! âď¸ pic.twitter.com/uWSpwJS2Xs
Nylander has agreed to an eight-year deal that will pay him $11.5 million per year. Not too shabby.
There might be a slight change or two between Saturday’s lineup and today’s. According to the Toronto Sun, Nick Robertson may make his way back into the lineup. It looks like the illness that made its way through the Toronto lockerroom a few weeks ago has reared its ugly head again and some of the players may be too under the weather to play.
Meantime, goaltender Martin Jones is expected to start for the Leafs. Jones made 24 saves in the win over San Jose on Saturday and earned the NHL’s second star of the week after completing the California sweep.
As for the Sharks, the team is just hoping to stop this losing skid. We’re at 11 losses in a row.
San Jose Sharks lines in Toronto
San Jose called up Scott Sabourin from the San Jose Barracuda and it looks like the forward will make his debut in teal tonight. San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reports Sabourin is in the lineup. My guess is he takes the place of Kevin Labanc, who seems to only find his way onto the ice when there are no other options for the coaching staff.
Here’s what the Daily Faceoff believes the lines will look like tonight for the Sharks, except I made the small change of Sabourin in the place of Labanc.
Forwards
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Mike Hoffman
Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Alexander Barabanov – Luke Kunin – Justin Bailey
Filip Zadina – Ryan Carpenter – Scott Sabourin
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta
Calen Addison – Nikita Okhotiuk
Goaltenders
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Toronto Maple Leafs lines against the San Jose Sharks
Meanwhile, here’s what the lines will likely look like according to Daily Faceoff.
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 Liljegren
Goaltenders
Martin Jones
Dennis Hildeby
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Toronto Maple Leafs Jan. 9, 2024
For Sharks fans, the game will air on NBCSCA. If you’re not in front of a television or can’t live stream the game, then listen to the Sharks Audio Network for all the play-by-play action. You can also listen online at this link: sjsharks.com/listen.
Toronto fans can tune in to TSN Sports or listen on the radio at TSN 1050.
The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT, that’s 7 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
You can also tune in here to talk to other Sharks fans as the game is going on.
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