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Saturday NHL game preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby vs. Auston Matthews matchup to watch at PPG Paints Arena.
Saturday NHL game preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins | Toronto Star
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host the Leafs on Saturday night. (Claus Andersen / GETTY IMAGES file photo)
By Kevin McGranSports Reporter
Fri., Feb. 16, 2018
PPG PAINTS ARENA
FACEOFF: 7 p.m.
TV: SN
RADIO: TSN 1050
KEY PLAYERS
Crosby/Matthews
The NHL may not be at the Olympics, but this is at least a best-on-best matchup. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby leads the league in scoring since Jan. 1 with five goals and 26 assists in 19 games. Leaf Auston Matthews has nine goals and seven assists in the same span, and is heating up with seven points in his last five games.
NEED TO KNOW
The Penguins are 10-1-0 in their last 11 home games, outscoring opponents 50-30 . . . Their home power play is third-best in the league at 33.3 per cent since Jan. 1, but their penalty kill on home ice is only 18th at 79.4 per cent . . . Former Leafs defenceman Matt Hunwick (upper body) is day-to-day, while Pittsburgh forwards Patric Hornqvist and Tom Kuhnhackl (both lower body) are on injured reserve . . . Goalie Matt Murray has won six in a row at PPG Paints Arena, and is 7-0-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .926 save mark over his past eight games.
UP NEXT
Sunday at Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.
Game Day: Maple Leafs at Penguins
Lance HornbyMore from Lance Hornby
Game Day: Maple Leafs at Penguins
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Saturday, 7 P.M. PPG Paints Arena
TV: Sportsnet RADIO: 1050 AM
THE BIG MATCHUP
G Frederik Andersen vs. G Matt Murray
Both goalies are hot at home, but Murray has been simply dominant. A feature of his club’s 10 straight wins at PPG, Murray is also 38-7-4 in his career at the confluence of the three rivers. That does not include a record of 13-2 in playoffs. Andersen, meanwhile, stopped 176 of 190 shots as Toronto swept five straight at home since last week.
FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
Another Phil up
Mike Babcock didn’t get the chance to coach Phil Kessel, but his team has to defend against him. The productive Kessel was a top-five NHL scorer with 66 points and 40-plus assists before the L.A. Kings blanked him on Thursday. Kessel says the pass has come easier than the shot this season.
Auston and Sid
Asked by Pittsburgh reporters if he gets fired up to play the likes of young lions Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby said he’s “pretty motivated, regardless of whether a guy is younger or older than me. I didn’t worry about age when I was 18, I’m not going to worry about it when I’m 30. Once you get out there, everyone is trying to be their best.”
Power switch
From brushing off the league’s worst power play Wednesday against Columbus, Toronto is about to take on the best. Pittsburgh had another power-play goal Thursday and is close to 27% on the season.
Reese in the crease
Watch for Pittsburgh call-up Zach Aston-Reese, with three goals the past two games. The Northeastern University grad has been playing a lot with Crosby in his six-game call-up.
Free Freddie
Though the Leafs would not expect to allow 57 shots in a second straight game to stretch Andersen’s workload, these are the Penguins after all and it’s not 100% assured Jake Gardiner will be back in the lineup to help skate the puck out of trouble.
PENGUINS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Aston-Reese Sidney Crosby Conor Sheary
Carl Hagelin Evgeni Malkin Bryan Rust
Jake Guentzel Riley Sheahan Phil Kessel
Dominik Simon Carter Rowney Ryan Reaves
DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Brian Dumoulin Kris Letang
Olli Maatta Justin Schultz
Ian Cole Jamie Oleksiak
Goal
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Sick Bay
D Chad Ruhwedel
RW Patric Hornqvist
RW Tom Kuhnhackl
MAPLE LEAFS GAME DAY LINES
LW C RW
Zach Hyman Auston Matthews William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk Tyler Bozak Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau Nazem Kadri Connor Brown
Leo Komarov Dominic Moore Kasperi Kapanen
DEFENCE PAIRINGS
Jake Gardiner Nikita Zaitsev
Morgan Rielly Ron Hainsey
Travis Dermott Connor Carrick/Roman Polak
GOALIES
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Sick Bay
None
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power play
Toronto 20.1% (5th)
Pittsburgh 26.6% (1st)
Penalty killing
Toronto 83.2% (5th)
Pittsburgh 82.5% (8th)
Leafs Head Out for Road Swing Aiming to Build on Home Stand Sweep
by Adam Proteau Proteautype / MapleLeafs.com February 16th, 2018
Leafs Head Out for Road Swing Aiming to Build on Home Stand Sweep
Although they were riding a five-game win streak, as the Maple Leafs took off their special uniforms - all-white equipment from head-to-toe, to be worn during Toronto's outdoor game in D.C. against the Washington Capitals March 3 - Friday after practice at their west-end training facility, the players and coaches understood there were aspects of their game that needed work. Of course, it's a good thing for Leafs Nation to see their team win nine of their past 10 games and sweep their five-game home stand at Air Canada Centre with a 6-3 win over Columbus Wednesday, but the Buds' all-around game left veterans with the feeling they could be much improved, particularly in their own end.
"We didn't have a great game the other night," defenceman Ron Hainsey said of the Leafs' win over Columbus, which saw Toronto give up their lead twice before pulling ahead for good in the third period. "I don't know if we were coming out of the rink doing cartwheels after that one. We won, but our goaltender was certainly our best player by far."
Hainsey was right - netminder Frederik Andersen faced a whopping 57 Blue Jackets shots in Wednesday's win, and Andersen had to be his typically dynamic self to prevent the visitors from snapping the Leafs' win streak. In addition, the line of centre Nazem Kadri and wingers Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner provided much of the offence: Kadri had a hat trick and five points on the night, while Marleau and Marner combined to register two goals and five points. So while there were significant contributions from a number of Leafs, the overall effort put forth by the group was an issue for head coach Mike Babcock.
"Any time you get going good and you're playing good, human nature is things start slipping and sometimes you get away with more than you should and that was probably one of them," Babcock said of Wednesday's game. "But we had Naz's line really going, and Freddie, and so we were able to win the game. But we've got to be way better, we've got to work way harder, and compete harder and sort things out in our own zone."
That said, Babcock was happy that his players performed well in front of their home fans and improved their home record to 19-8-2 during their home stand.
"The whole idea is our guys came and we competed," Babcock said. "Any time you have five in a row at home, you're always worried maybe it's too long of a stretch. But our guys did a real good job here."
The Leafs headed out to Pittsburgh Friday in advance of Saturday's showdown with the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, who've won three straight and have an 8-1-1 mark in their past 10 games. Toronto beat the Pens 4-3 in their previous meeting this season, but Leafs players are acutely aware of how dangerous any team that employs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, among others, can be.
"They're obviously a veteran team (and) they've won," centre Auston Matthew said. "So it's always a challenge going up against those kinds of teams, because they know how to do it, and they've been doing it for quite some time. So they're always in the playoffs, they're always in the mix to get to the finals and eventually win. So that always presents a good challenge."
Matthews noted the Leafs have done a solid job in their home stand of keeping the game moving and not allowing an opponent to slow it down and staying in their zone for too long. That was somewhat of an issue against Columbus, but for the most part, the Buds have used their quickness and transition game to emerge victorious.
"I think we're just skating," Matthews said of the common factor in Toronto's win streak. "We kind of switched up the lines a little bit, and some lines have been clicking for us. Obviously, Naz's line has been on fire for us lately. So when you've got other guys, rolling three or four lines out, and everybody's kind of contributing and working hard, it presents a lot of problems for the opposing team with our speed and skill."
As he gets his team prepared for the Penguins - as well as the Red Wings, who the Leafs will play Sunday night in Detroit - Babcock explained why the Buds' speed is a product of their competitive structure and players' belief in one another.
"Trust equals speed," Babcock said. "If everyone doesn't do their job, we can't be fast together. So to me, that is the biggest thing about team sports: unless you're well-structured and accountable, then your skill can't come out, because you get in each other's way. The idea with structure is to simply free up the players so they can let their skill com
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