The Sharks got back at it on Monday night following their tough shootout loss to Detroit 48 hours earlier, with a stop in Toronto to take on the struggling Maple Leafs. Toronto entered play having lost 3 straight, but the Sharks obliged their hosts with another mistake filled game that gave Toronto a 3-1 victory at Scotiabank Arena.

San Jose once again blew a lead but they didn't wait until the 3rd period to cough up Monday's game. Clinging to a 1-goal advantage, San Jose took a ridiculous penalty late in the 2nd period which led to a tying goal. San Jose was then out-played in the 3rd period to lose the game.

Zack MacEwen was called for slashing Luca Cagnoni in the Sharks zone 7:18 into the contest to setup the game's first power play opportunity. San Jose did nothing with the man advantage, then Toronto ended it with a 2-on-1 chance that challenged Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

Toronto native Michael Misa drew a tripping penalty on Loliver Ekman-Larsson at 11:41, but once again they failed to generate any dangerous.

Mason Marchment, another Ontario native solved Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky at 13:54, gloving a Tyler Toffoli feed then dropping it to his feet and sliding a backhand chance home for his 3rd goal of the season.

Things got dicey for the Sharks after Marchment's goal. Jacob Trouba was called for tripping at 15:23, then Dmitry Orlov followed him 58 seconds later. The Sharks penalty killers were excellent, denying the Maple Leafs 2-man advantage.

Toronto held a slim 9-8 advantage in shots after 20 minutes, but it was the Sharks who held the most important stat with the 1-goal lead.

The Maple Leafs opened the middle period with a bit more motivation playing down a goal. They were buzzing Askarov for the first 4 minutes of the period before Will Smith allowed his stick to get caught in Jake McCabe's skates to put Toronto on their 3rd power play of the contest.

Oddly, the penalty kill helped slow the pace down, allowing the Sharks to play a more controlled tempo that kept pucks away from Askarov.

Things looked as if they would reach the 2nd intermission still clinging to their slim lead, but more sloppy play would cost San Jose. With just under 20 seconds left in the period, the Sharks controlled the puck and were not being pressured as they tried to enter the Toronto zone. Problem is, San Jose was also trying to change some players and when Jacob Trouba's lead pass passed through the neutral zone, there were too many white Sharks sweaters on the ice.

Toronto won the ensuing faceoff before Kiril Marchennko setup Auston Matthews for a power play goal with 11 seconds remaining before the break. It was another undisciplined play that ended up costing the Sharks. The lack of focus and coordination was something the Sharks have been bumbling through in the 3rd period, but they decided to get it our of their system early in this one.

San Jose backed themselves into a corner early in the 3rd period when Luca Cagnoni was called for cross checking. It was more undisciplined play by a team that can't afford to be undisciplined.

The NHL's 1st overall draft pick from last summer, Gavin McKenna, converted on the mad advantage with his 1st career power play goal at 4:56. The rookie forward gathered a William Nylander feed out of the right corner, then drove to the part of the right circle closest to the goal before snapping the puck past Askarov for his 3rd goal of the season.

Troy Stecher gifted the Sharks a power play chance 9:20 remaining in regulation, but San Jose bumbled their way to another wasted opportunity. Toronto actually had more shots on goal during the Sharks man advantage, with the puck rarely leaving the Sharks zone.

It was a terrible response from a team that is supposedly improved over last season, which had them narrowly missing the playoffs. This team isn't a playoff team right now, much less a contender.

San Jose was forced to pull Askarov, but they couldn't even get the puck to a safe enough position to vacate their own net. He would not leave the ice until the 18:30 mark, but by then San Jose had still not organized to be of any threat to Bobrovsky.

Nick Paul buried an empty net chance with 40 seconds left to decide put the nail in the coffin.

Game Notes:

* Several Sharks are Ontario natives, so Monday's game was a homecoming for most. Michael Misa made his first start at Scotiabank Arena and had 20 family & friends in attendance.

* The start was Yaroslav Askarov's first in Toronto.

* Alexander Wennberg slipped into the locker room early in the 3rd period, right as the Maple Leafs would score their go-ahead goal. The timing could not have been worse foor San Jose who would not stop Toronto without one of their primary penalty killers.

* The battle of the 2026 NHL Draft Class went to Gavin McKenna who scored the tying goal late in the 2nd period. 2nd overall pick Ivar Stenberg was held pointless and was a -1 with 1 shot in 14:27 of ice time.

* San Jose was 31 for 63 on draws, winning 49% of their faceoffs.