Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] head coach Craig Berube made a few tweaks to the lineup ahead of the Seattle Kraken, the first of a four-game road trip on the West Coast. Calle Jarnkrok is set to join the Maple Leafs' third line, alongside Nick Robertson and Nicolas Roy. Meanwhile, Easton Cowan, who was with Robertson and Roy, will move down to Jarnkrok's spot on the fourth line, beside Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz. Cowan has three assists in his last six games; Jarnkrok has a goal and two assists in the same span. William Nylander, who's missed six straight games with a groin injury, skated with the group on Thursday morning in Seattle, but will not be in the lineup against the Kraken. Berube noted, though, that the 29-year-old could be ready to return against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Despite missing 16 games this season (17 on Thursday night), Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in points with 17 goals and 48 points in 37 games. Next best: Auston Matthews, whose 26 goals and 45 points are sneaking up on Nylander. Toronto's last game against Seattle was a 4-3 overtime loss on Oct. 18 [https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/sea-vs-tor/2025/10/18/2025020079/boxscore]. In net for the Maple Leafs in that game was Anthony Stolarz, who's set to start against the Kraken again on Thursday evening. Stolarz has played one game since returning from a nerve injury that forced him to miss nearly two-and-a-half months. The 32-year-old allowed five goals on 30 shots against [https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2025020802] Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights last Friday. In 14 games this season, Stolarz has six wins and an .880 save percentage. Toronto enters Thursday's game against the Kraken tied for last in the Atlantic Division [https://www.nhl.com/standings/2026-01-29/wildcard] and eight points out of a wild-card spot, currently held by the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. After Seattle, the Maple Leafs have the Canucks on Saturday, the Calgary Flames on Monday, and they'll wrap up the four-game road trip with a matchup against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Berube's message to the team ahead of the first game against Seattle: It's a huge trip. "We are where we're at, and we've dug this hole," added Berube, "so we gotta dig ourselves out of it, starting tonight."
