The Pittsburgh Penguins (12-6-5) have won two in a row and have points in three straight, including a comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime Friday. The Penguins host the surprisingly next-to-last-place Toronto Maple Leafs (10-11-3) Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

The puck drops just after 7 p.m.

The Penguins were admittedly pretty awful for most of the first two periods Friday against Columbus, but a few words in the locker room and a bit of resolve turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 OT win; the Penguins’ first extra-time win this season.

The team had been 0-2 in OT and 0-3 in shootouts before the game.

Sidney Crosby scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season. Bryan Rust also scored in regulation, and Kris Letang netted the winner less than a minute into the extra period.

Crosby’s goals put him on pace for a 53-goal season.

Goalie Tristan Jarry got the nod and stopped 26 of 29 in the win. His record is now 7-2-0 with a .912 save percentage.

Toronto has been riding the struggle bus, and if not for the perennially struggling Buffalo Sabres, they would be in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto’s last regulation win was Nov. 5. Since last Saturday, they’ve lost to their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in regulation, and beaten Columbus in OT.

Washington beat Toronto 4-2 Friday. Mathew Knies and Morgan Reilly scored for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 30 of 33 in the losing battle.

Toronto activated Auston Matthews and Nic Roy from injured reserve on Wednesday. Matthews had a primary assist Friday against Washington, just his sixth helper this season.

Arturs Silovs and Dennis Hildeby will most likely be the goalies Saturday.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Hockey Night in Canada (CBC/Sportsnet)

Radio: 105.9 The X

Expected Penguins Lines

Kevin Hayes-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha

Danton Heinen-Ben Kindel-Ville Koivunen

Joona Koppanen-Blake Lizotta-Connor Dewar

Defense

Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea-Kris Letang

Ryan Graves-Matt Dumba

Goalie: Arturs Silovs, expected

Maple Leafs Lines

Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Nicholas Robertson

Max Domi -John Tavares-Easton Cowan

Dakota Joshua-Nicolas Roy-Bobby McMann

Steven Lorentz-Scott Laughton-Calle Jarnkrok

Morgan Rielly–Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Simon Benoit-Jake McCabe

Dakota Mermis -Troy Stecher

Goalie: Dennis Hildeby, expected

Special Teams

Penguins’ power play: 30.2%, 2nd. Penguins penalty kill: 85.7%, 4th.

Maple Leafs power play: 15%, 26th. Maple Leafs penalty kill: 81.4%, 13th.

Penguins Game Notes

Toronto has had the better of the recent games with the Penguins. While the Penguins have points in nine of their last 16 games (7-7-2) against Toronto, the Penguins blew a three-goal lead on Nov. 3, losing 4-3. Toronto is 7-3-0 against the Penguins in their last 10 meetings.

The Maple Leafs’ resounding 7-0 win on Dec. 16, 2023, remains the game that was probably the breaking moment for the Penguins’ hopes to remain a contender.

The Penguins are 2-2-3 in back-to-backs (2-1-1 on the first night and 0-1-2 on the second night).

The Penguins’ penalty kill has allowed just three power-play goals against over its last 15 games (35-for-38, 92.1%).

Bryan Rust has six points (2-4-6) in his last three games against Toronto. In 21 career games, he has 19 points (6-13-19).

Crosby’s two goals tied him with Dave Andreychuk for 15th all-time (640). Crosby is 16 goals behind Brendan Shanahan for 14th.

The Penguins’ .909 save percentage ranks second in the NHL, behind only Colorado (.920).

Crosby currently has a five-game point streak against Toronto (1-6-7) and has 74 points (30-44-74) in 57 career games. 

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Categorized: Penguins Pregame