The Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the hottest teams in the NHL, get a chance to shake off a recent losing streak when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Toronto had won three straight and 10 of 12 to take 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 suffered a setback on Friday, as a 4-2 loss to the host New York Rangers ended Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak.
The Maple Leafs had won five straight home games before the Capitals came and made history with their eighth straight 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 walking away with the puck, we got it back a lot tonight,” said Maple Leafs coach, Craig Berube. “It started in the first half the whole game. That ended up biting us and it cost us. We didn’t play the northern 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 a groin injury before returning to score against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, then adding two goals against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
Toronto right winger Mitch Marner had his eight points against the Capitals. He produced five goals and 11 assists on the road.
Marner averaged at least a point a game against 24 of 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 game-tying goal at 9:53 of the third, and Vincent Trocheck added the insurance tally at 18:22.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves against New York, so Tristan Jarry is expected to start in goal against 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 December 16, 2023, when he allowed four goals on 14 shots before being lifted in the second half of a 7–0 loss.
Blake Lizotte scored the first goal of the game against the Rangers to continue his strong debut 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 being acquired from the Predators on Nov. 25 for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan will enter his 700th game with the franchise on Saturday. He will become the 21st person to coach at least 700 games for a single NHL team.
“I am very happy to have the opportunity to coach here in Pittsburgh,” said Sullivan, who coached the Boston Bruins for two seasons. “It’s a first-rate organization. It’s gone through several ownership groups. Both groups bring great leadership to what we’re doing here.”
–Field Level Media
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