Maple Leafs to Run Similar Lineup Tonight Against Sharks, Albeit with One Significant Change

The Maple Leafs were at least partially responsible for the Flyers relieving now former head coach John Tortorella of his coaching duties, after a blowout Leafs victory on Tuesday sparked some controversial comments from the veteran bench boss, which may have contributed to his termination in Philly.

The Leafs received offensive contributions from 11 different players, including 4-point nights for John Tavares and William Nylander, who welcomed Bobby McMann back onto their wing. The trio posted a combined 10 points, earning a tremendous amount of praise from head coach Craig Berube, so it is no surprise to see them remain together for tonight's game in San Jose.

Max Domi will continue to centre the 3rd line for the Leafs, skating with Nick Robertson and the struggling Scott Laughton on the 3rd line again tonight. In fact, there will be no changes to the forward groups or the D pairings tonight against the Sharks at all after the 7-goal flurry against the Flyers on Tuesday.

There will, however, be a change in goal, as Joseph Woll is set to return to the crease tonight after his running mate, Anthony Stolarz, posted a .895 SV% on Tuesday, stopping 17 of 19 shots in the win over the Flyers.

After starting 3 of the Leafs' 4 games last week, Woll may very well have the edge in the race to see who will start for the Leafs in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Of course, that's not to say that Stolarz can't close the gap a little bit in the next few weeks and make the Leafs' decision a difficult one. Unfortunately for Stolarz, he hasn't looked quite the same since returning from surgery just before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

A win tonight for Woll and another dominant performance could further separate him at the top of the pecking order for the Leafs, but a loss to a bottom-feeder like San Jose could open the door for Stolarz to come back strong this weekend. It will be interesting to see which way it goes tonight.