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The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a four-game road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Monday, the first of three games in four nights in the Golden State.
The game marks the return of veteran Patrick Marleau to Northern California. The 38-year-old winger signed a three-year, $18.75 Million with the Leafs after playing 19 seasons with the Sharks.
“There’s going to be a lot of emotion, that’s for sure.… Marleau said after the morning skate. “Stepping on the ice just feels different coming in, but there’s a lot of great memories.…
The Maple Leafs are hoping to play with more energy at both ends of the ice and shake off some recent adversity, as the club lost two games in a row at home and three of their last four games.
“We’re a team that’s a work in progress, to say the least.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “We’re trying to get better each and every day. I think we’ve had our moments, but we’ve also had moments where we don’t look like we are very good.…
Toronto will get James van Riemsdyk and Matt Martin back in the lineup after the wingers were scratched with injuries against Philadelphia on Saturday.
Van Riemsdyk rejoined Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner at the morning skate in San Jose, while Martin skated with Dominic Moore and Connor Brown and Marleau was moved back to regular linemates Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.
“We’ve had basically two fixed lines and the other ones haven’t been that way.… Babcock said. “We are going back to what we thought worked for us in the past and we’ll see if it catch fire again.…
Frederik Andersen will make his 11th start of the season. The Leafs goaltender is going through early season struggles as he did in his debut season with Toronto, with a .890 save percentage and 3.61 GAA, but it was at this time last season when he began to settle down and play more consistently.
The Leafs will have to play stingy defensively in front of Andersen against tough opposition in San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and St. Louis to maintain their position in the top three of the Atlantic Division.
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