Having ended a three-game skid with a shutout in Montreal, the San Jose Sharks (7th in Pacific Division) will round off their latest back-to-back stretch with a trip to Toronto, where the local Maple Leafs (2nd in Atlantic) return on the back of a four-game winning run.
The current back-to-back set and a four-game road trip of the San Jose Sharks (8-13-4) started with a victory, as the team snapped a three-game losing skid (0-2-1) with a 4-0 triumph against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre last night. The Sharks were outshot 28-24 and failed to convert on five man-advantage opportunities, but blocked 28 shots, killed all six of their penalties, including a 5-on-3 power play for 55 seconds, and tallied three times in the third period after Matt Nieto (5 goals, 9 points this year) got the scoring rolling 1:33 into the opening frame. Tomas Hertl (7 goals, 23 points) banked two snipes, while Logan Couture (13 goals, 22 points) picked up a strike and an assist for San Jose, which won just for the second time in its past seven fixtures (2-4-1).
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen (3-5-2 on the season with a 3.43 GAA and a .884 save percentage) made 28 saves yesterday for his first shutout of the current campaign and third of his NHL career. Aaron Dell (3-3-0 with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda this year with a 3.22 GAA and a .904 save percentage), though, is expected to make his NHL season debut tonight, despite having posted a 0-2-0 past total against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5.08 GAA and a .818 save percentage. The Sharks are 12th in least goals scored per game in 2022-23 (3.00), 11th in most goals allowed on average (3.44), 23rd in power play (19.7%; 13-for-66) and top of the league in penalty kill (91.2%; 62-for-68).