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Leafs cruise, send Sharks to 11th straight loss
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

William Nylander had two goals and an assist and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1 Saturday night.

The Sharks have lost 11 straight and the Maple Leafs have won three in a row.

Mitchell Marner and Calle Jarnkrok also scored for Toronto, while Tyler Bertuzzi added two assists.

Martin Jones made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs, who swept their three-game California road trip. Jones shut out the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 Tuesday in the opener and earned the victory in Toronto's 2-1 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.

Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 29 shots.

Marner scored his 15th goal of the season from the left circle after a give-and-go with Morgan Rielly at 15:22 of the first period during a five-on-three power play. Nylander also earned an assist.

Tomas Hertl (tripping) and Granlund (closing hand on puck) were serving minor penalties for San Jose.

The Maple Leafs had a 17-3 advantage in shots on goal in the first period. They also hit two goal posts and a crossbar. Jones made one good save early in the first period.

Jarnkrok scored his 10th goal of the season at 19:17 of the second on a 33-foot shot. Max Domi made the play possible by beating the Sharks to the puck behind the goal to prevent an icing call. Pontus Holmberg and Timothy Liljegren earned assists.

Toronto led 25-12 in shots on goal after the second.

Hertl hit a goal post for San Jose in the first minute of the third.

Nylander scored his 20th goal of the season at 9:34 of the third on a 31-foot shot, with assists by Bertuzzi and Jake McCabe, for a 3-0 lead.

Granlund scored his fifth of the season from five feet at 11:57 of the third to cut the deficit to 3-1. Fabian Zetterlund and Ty Emberson earned assists.

Nylander made it 4-1 with his 21st from close range at 16:28 of the third on assists from John Tavares and Bertuzzi.

The teams play again Tuesday night in Toronto.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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