The San Jose Sharks are coming off two big losses but are looking good to bounce back tonight as they visit one of the worst teams in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The hosts have won only one of their last seven games, and that was a shootout victory against the league-worst Buffalo Sabres. San Jose still has a chance of making the post-season but for that to materialize a loss against a team of the Maple Leafs caliber is completely out of the question.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Toronto's Lack Of Motivation - Toronto appears to be a team that is just going through the motions. It might as well start looking to place itself in a favorable position for the upcoming draft, so a win here might not even be in its best interest. It lost 4-1 to fellow bottom-dwellers Edmonton Monday and has lost all of its last six playing on two days of rest.

2. Road Warriors - San Jose lost at Winnipeg Tuesday but had won two straight on the road prior to that, defeating both the Stars and the Canucks. They've been dominant over recent meetings in Toronto, winning four straight and eight of the last nine overall.

3. X-Factor - The Sharks are sitting 10th in the Western Conference, six points back of the Kings and the Jets in seventh/eighth. As the Kings dropped points at Anaheim yesterday and the Jets are hosting the surging Blues tonight this looks like a good spot for the Sharks to narrow the gap.

Selection: This is a play on the San Jose Sharks (8*)

(8*)