The Toronto Maple Leafs come into town tonight to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena at 7:00 PM Eastern. The Leafs are currently 10-5-3 with 23 points, while the Pens are 9-10-0 with 18 points. Both teams are playing their second game of a back-to-back. The Leafs lost in overtime 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Pens lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres. This will be the first of three meetings with the Leafs, as they will play in Toronto two more times this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Tyler Bertuzzi – John Tavares – William Nylander
Nick Robertson – Max Domi – Calle Järnkrok
Noah Gregor – David Kämpf – Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
Mark Giordano – Jake McCabe
William Lagesson – Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll
Ilya Samsonov
Scratched: F Bobby McMann, F Alex Steeves, D Simon Benoit
Injured: D John Klingberg, D Timothy Liljegren, D Jake Muzzin, G Matt Murray
Toronto Maple Leafs Notes:
1 Forward Ryan Reaves became the 700th player to score a goal for the Maple Leafs.
2 Defenseman John Klingberg was placed on LTIR by the Leafs on Thursday.
3 Joseph Woll will start tonight after Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves during the Leafs’ loss to the Blackhawks. Woll has won his last two starts.
4 Forward William Nylander will face his brother for the fifth time in his career tonight, as he failed to record a point in a game for the first time yesterday. He had 12 goals and 27 points in his 17-game point streak.
5 Forward Auston Matthews has 14 goals in his first 18 games this season but struggled against Chicago. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe made it known he was not happy with his or Marner’s play.
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lines
Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Drew O’Connor
Reilly Smith – Evgeni Malkin – Alex Nylander
Radim Zohorna – Lars Eller – Vinnie Hinostroza
Matt Nieto – Noel Acciari – Jeff Carter
Ryan Graves – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea – John Ludvig
Tristan Jarry
Alex Nedeljkovic
Scratched: F Jansen Harkins
Injured: F Bryan Rust, D P.O. Joseph, F Rickard Rakell, D Chad Ruhwedel, D Will Butcher
Pittsburgh Penguins Notes
1 The Pens’ power play hasn’t gotten anything going lately, and it has cost the team wins. The team tried different power play combinations yesterday to no avail. The Penguins have failed to score a power-play goal in their last six games.
2 Defenseman Marcus Pettersson is likely to play after taking a high stick to the face last night in the final minutes of the game.
3 The Pens have only won 19 games in regulation in their last 64 games, despite being four points out of a playoff spot as of right now.
A Look Ahead
The Pens will be on the road for their next two games following tonight’s game. They will head to Nashville to take on the Predators on Tuesday and will travel to Tampa Bay to battle the Lightning on Thursday.
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