Auston Matthews officially returns tonight, per Mike Babcock. He missed 14 games with a left shoulder injury.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 28, 2018

What a way to start the day!

The Leafs welcome back Auston Matthews to the lineup tonight after a 14 game absence. They also welcome the San Jose Sharks to Scotiabank Arena for the first and only time this season.

Record: 17-8-0 (4th)

5v5 CF%: 48.92 (19th)

PDO: 1.035 (1st)

Goal Differential: +24 (1st)

Record: 12-8-5 (11th)

5v5 CF%: 55.43 (3rd)

PDO: .965 (31st)

Goal Differential: 0 (16th)

Statistically speaking, it’s the luckiest team in the NHL (the Leafs), versus the least lucky (the Sharks) tonight, if you buy into PDO. The Leafs can’t stop scoring, and Frederik Andersen continues to backstop the team to wins.

The Sharks, meanwhile, enter tonight’s game with just one win in their last four games, and with Martin Jones continuing to struggle in net.

Leafs Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
ZACH HYMAN Rating: 73.0#59 LW	JOHN TAVARES Rating: 81.5#12 C	MITCH MARNER Rating: 78.5#15 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 77.68#18 FL1
PATRICK MARLEAU Rating: 74.1#42 LW	AUSTON MATTHEWS Rating: 85.0#5 C	KASPERI KAPANEN Rating: 73.8#45 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 77.65#4 FL2
ANDREAS JOHNSSON Rating: 73.7#45 LW	NAZEM KADRI Rating: 77.2#34 C	CONNOR BROWN Rating: 69.9#101 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 73.60#3 FL3
TYLER ENNIS Rating: 70.4#113 LW	PAR LINDHOLM Rating: 72.4#106 C	JOSH LEIVO Rating: 72.5#67 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 71.78#5 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
MORGAN RIELLY Rating: 79.4#5 LD	RON HAINSEY Rating: 73.5#38 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 76.46#9 DL1
JAKE GARDINER Rating: 76.5#16 LD	MARTIN MARINCIN Rating: 70.9#82 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 73.72#15 DL2
TRAVIS DERMOTT Rating: 74.0#36 LD	IGOR OZHIGANOV Rating: 72.8#45 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 73.37#2 DL3

What a glorious sight to see Auston Matthews back in the lineup. With his return, Nazem Kadri also slides back down to the third line, between Johnsson and Brown. It’ll be fascinating to see what Andreas Johnsson can accomplish alongside the more offensively-minded Kadri, now that he’s breaking out.

Zaitsev (illness) is also likely to play.

No Nylander yet.

Sharks Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
EVANDER KANE Rating: 76.4#26 LW	JOE PAVELSKI Rating: 79.0#28 C	JOONAS DONSKOI Rating: 73.5#50 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 76.29#23 FL1
TOMAS HERTL Rating: 75.1#51 LW	LOGAN COUTURE Rating: 79.7#22 C	TIMO MEIER Rating: 75.5#28 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 76.77#5 FL2
MARCUS SORENSEN Rating: 73.1#57 LW	JOE THORNTON Rating: 75.1#50 C	KEVIN LABANC Rating: 73.8#46 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 74.01#2 FL3
BARCLAY GOODROW Rating: 69.3#130 LW	LUKAS RADIL	MELKER KARLSSON Rating: 68.7#112 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 69.04#31 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
JOAKIM RYAN Rating: 72.2#65 LD	BRENT BURNS Rating: 82.7#1 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 77.45#8 DL1
BRENDEN DILLON Rating: 72.2#64 LD	ERIK KARLSSON Rating: 82.5#2 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 77.34#2 DL2
MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC Rating: 74.6#30 LD	JUSTIN BRAUN Rating: 71.8#62 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 73.21#4 DL3

The Sharks are fully healthy, and despite their struggles and the fact that they’re aging, they continue to look like a pretty threatening team on paper. This is a team that’s likely still better than their record indicates.

Who’s Hot

• Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier are carrying the bulk of the offensive load for the Sharks, with 28 of their 77 goals this season.
• For the Leafs, Mitch Marner continues to play out of his mind. Hope everybody is enjoying watching the straw that stirs the drink.

Starting Goalies

Expect Andersen (13-7-0, .932) vs. Aaron Dell (3-3-2, .914) tonight. A bit more of a challenge than the struggling Martin Jones, Dell will be an interesting opponent in net. Let’s see if the Leafs can crack him.

Puck Drop is at 7:30pm ET on Sportsnet.