Leafs – Penguin Game Night

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GAME INFORMATION

Maple Leafs, 2-1-1, fourth in Atlantic Division in

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Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-0-2 4th in the Metropolitan Division

Tonight, 7pm, PPG Arena

TV: Sportsnet, Radio: FAN 590

SEASONAL SERIES

Maple leaves 0-0-0, GF: 0

Penguins 0-0-0, GF: 0

When they last met

(Feb 20, 2020 at Tor, 4-0 Leafs)

Headline: Living in the United States

Since March 6, 2020 in Anaheim, the Leafs haven’t played south of the border, so this three-man player from Pittsburgh, Carolina and Chicago has a sense of adventure about it.

“My first trip to America in this decade,” joked Captain John Tavares.

But it’s going to be a tall order, back-to-back against a team that has yet to lose in regulation, despite the growing injury list. While big names Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin are out of the mix, discipline will be key for the Leafs, who are already high on the league’s gift list, while Pittsburgh is among the lowest.

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Three things about penguins

1. Crosby is still not in full contact after the wrist surgery, so the Leafs dodge a bullet against a star who has accumulated 63 points in 45 games against them, with 21 of them in the power play. That is in addition to not having Malkin, Brian Rust, and now Jeff Carter, who was scratched due to COVID-19 protocols.

2. This will be Toronto’s first game against longtime friend Kasperi Kapanen, who couldn’t land a full-time top-six role on the Leafs, but the coach will be very supportive of him. Mike Sullivan during this labor shortage.

3. Tristan Jarry tested false positive for COVID and will be eligible to play net on Saturday.

Three things about maple leaves

1. A well-rested Jack Campbell is at the net. His busy night against the Rangers on Monday took him to sixth in the league in save percentage with a .953 mark. His game has grown in importance after Petr Mrazek’s groin injury earlier in the season.

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2. This will be the 50th game of John Tavares’ career against the Penguins, his most against any opponent, having dueled Crosby and company many times. He and Auston Matthews could see a lot of Evan Rodrigues, who is Pittsburgh’s number one center by default.

3. As their second game in as many nights reaches the final stages, Leafs will have to play a tighter defense; in other words, not in the loose way games have tended to begin so far.

Night lines from the game Maple Leafs

LW C RW

Nick Ritchie Auston Matthews Mitch Marner

Michael Bunting John Tavares William Nylander

Alex Kerfoot David Kampf Ondrej Kase

Pierre Engvall Jason Spezza Wayne Simmonds

Defense pairings

Jake Muzzin Justin Holl

Morgan Rielly TJ Brodie

Rasmus Sandin Travis Dermott

Goalkeepers

Jack campbell

Michael Hutchinson

NIGHT LINES OF THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS GAME

LW C RW

Jake Guentzel Evan Rodrigues Kasperi Kapanen

Zach Aston-Reese Teddy Blueger Brock McGinn

Jason Zucker Drew O’Connor Danton Heinen

Dominik Simon Brian Boyle Sam Lafferty

DEFENSE MATCHES

Brian Dumoulin Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson John Marino

Michael Matheson Chad Ruhwedel

OBJECTIVES

Tristan jarry

Casey desmith

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power play

Toronto 21.4% (15th)

Pittsburgh 16.7% (21st)

Death penalty

Toronto 84.6% (ninth)

Pittsburgh 90.0% (6th)

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