After a disappointing overtime loss against the Canucks on Tuesday, the 2-1-2 Pittsburgh Penguins are in Toronto to face the streaking Maple Leafs (winners of five in a row) for a game that should be must-watch television.
Crosby vs. Matthews, Tavares vs. Malkin, Kadri vs. Brassard, Kessel vs. Marner, Letang vs. Rielly, Kessel versus his old team, Hainsey against his former team — there are a lot of good storylines entering this game between two teams that are built quite similarly as far as roster construction, with two elite superstars down the middle plus good depth all the way through the forward ranks, as well as the similarities in their overall style of play.
It’s not a matchup that can take place in the playoffs any time before the Conference finals with the divisional format, but it’s not difficult to foresee these two teams running into each other once or twice in the postseason in the years to come.
Coming off of the win against the Kings, the Leafs will sub Tyler Ennis back in tonight to replace Andreas Johnsson. The Leafs continue to tinker with their depth on defense and forward, clearly noticing that:
1 – Players aren’t helped by prolonged time periods with no game action
2 – There is value in the quality depth that they have, and players like Johnsson, Marincin, Ozhiganov and Leivo have the opportunity to be real contributors over a long season while keeping each other hungry and motivated.
Frederik Andersen also returns to the net after a minor setback with his knee. Matt Murray will also return from injury for the Penguins, meaning each side is at full strength aside from William Nylander and Justin Schultz’s absence due to injury.
Game Day Quotes
Babcock on line matching against the Penguins:
What I’m going to do is I’m going to start the game and see how it goes — that’s what we’ve been doing every other night. Unlike last year where I’d always have a hard match, I’ve kind of just started the games [this year] and seen how it goes and see who’s playing against who and who’s winning against who — but also, who gets on the ice in the offensive zone is important to us as well.
Babcock on Johnsson:
I think [Johnsson] has been good, especially the last two games. We just didn’t want Ennis sitting out too long, to be honest with you. We thought Ennis was real good the night before Johnnson took his spot, so it’s just about keeping them alive. Obviously, there’s a big difference when you’re playing 20 minutes for the Marlies but you’re playing eight minutes for the Leafs — that’s a big adjustment for you as a player and mentally, so he’s going to have to dig in to make that adjustment. But we’re happy — obviously, he’s a huge part of our organization going ahead. He’s just got to keep carving his way.
Penguins coach Steve Sullivan on getting starter Matt Murray back from injury:
We have so much respect for this league and how good the teams are. When’s the ideal time to bring a guy back into the lineup? I’m not sure there is one. [Murray] is our number one goalie. He’s healthy and he’s had a number of good practices.
Sullivan on Jack Johnson’s start in Pittsburgh:
I think Jack’s been fine. He’s a guy we thought could strengthen our defence core; he can play the type of game that we’re trying to play as a group. His first pass is good, he defends hard, he’s strong down low in the battle areas. He brings an element that our defence core, as a group, doesn’t have a lot of.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#12 Patrick Marleau – #34 Auston Matthews – #24 Kasperi Kapanen
#11 Zach Hyman – #91 John Tavares – #16 Mitch Marner
#26 Par Lindholm – #43 Nazem Kadri – #28 Connor Brown
#32 Josh Leivo – #33 Frederik Gauthier – #63 Tyler Ennis
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #2 Ron Hainsey
#51 Jake Gardiner – #22 Nikita Zaitsev
#23 Travis Dermott – #92 Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
#31 Frederik Andersen
#40 Garret Sparks
Scratched: Andreas Johnsson, Martin Marincin, Justin Holl, William Nylander (unsigned RFA)
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lines
Forwards
#59 Jake Guentzel – #87 Sidney Crosby – #17 Bryan Rust
#62 Carl Hagelin – #71 Evgeni Malkin – #81 Phil Kessel
#12 Dominik Simon – #18 Derek Brassard – #72 Patric Hornqvist
#32 Daniel Sprong – #7 Matt Cullen – #15 Riley Sheahan
Defensemen
#8 Brian Dumoulin – #58 Kris Letang
#3 Olli Maatta – #6 Jamie Oleksiak
#73 Jack Johnson – #50 Juuso Riikola
Goaltenders
#30 Matt Murray
#1 Casey DeSmith
Injured: Justin Schultz
