The Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the hottest teams in the NHL, get a chance to shake off a rare recent loss when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Toronto had won three in a row and 10 of 12 to take over the top spot in the Atlantic Division before the momentum was halted in a 3-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday.
The Penguins also experienced a downturn on Friday, as a 4-2 loss to the host New York Rangers ended Pittsburgh’s season-high four-game winning streak.
The Maple Leafs had won five consecutive home games before the Capitals arrived and set a franchise record with their eighth straight road victory.
The game was tied 1-1 before Washington’s Connor McMichael scored at 9:51 of the third period, and Aliaksei Protas added an empty-net goal in the final minute.
“Instead of just going the other way with the puck, we brought it back too much tonight,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “It started from the first period on for the whole game. That eventually bit us and cost us. We didn’t play a north game, we didn’t play fast tonight. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”
The Capitals kept Toronto’s Auston Matthews off the scoresheet. The Maple Leafs’ captain missed nine games with an upper-body injury before returning to score a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, then added two goals against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
Toronto right winger Mitch Marner had his eight-game point streak end against the Capitals. He produced five goals and 11 assists in the streak.
Marner averages at least a point a game against 24 of the 32 teams in the NHL, including the Penguins. He has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 21 games vs. Pittsburgh.
Like the Maple Leafs, the Penguins stumbled in the third period on Friday. The Rangers’ Reilly Smith scored the tiebreaking goal at 9:53 of the third, and Vincent Trocheck added an insurance tally at 18:22.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves against New York, so Tristan Jarry is expected to start in goal versus the Maple Leafs.
Jarry is 5-3-0 in his career against Toronto with a .909 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average. He last faced the Maple Leafs on Dec. 16, 2023, when he allowed four goals on 14 shots before he was lifted in the second period of the 7-0 loss.
Blake Lizotte scored the first goal of the game against the Rangers to continue his solid first campaign with the Penguins. He has five goals in 12 games after scoring seven in 62 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season.
Philip Tomasino also scored his third goal in five games for Pittsburgh since he was acquired from the Predators on Nov. 25 for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan will log his 700th game with the franchise on Saturday. He will become the 21st person to coach at least 700 games for one NHL team.
“I am so privileged to have the opportunity to coach here in Pittsburgh,” said Sullivan, who previously coached the Boston Bruins for two seasons. “It’s a first-class organization. Been through a couple of ownership groups. Both groups bring such first-class leadership to what we do here.”
–Field Level Media