When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 17, 2018
Where: PPG PAINTS Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Matchup Edge
TOR Edge in: PIT
Offense
Defense
Power Play
Penalty Kill
Face Offs
Discipline
Goaltending

Preview: Maple Leafs at Penguins
Gracenote
Feb 16, 2018

The Pittsburgh Penguins have feasted on home cookin' since the calendar flipped to 2018 but their bid to taste their 11th consecutive victory will be put to the test on Saturday when they host the surging Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs, who have won five in a row and nine of their last 10 overall, posted a 4-3 victory over the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 9.

Nazem Kadri recorded a career-best five-point performance (three goals, two assists) and his fellow linemates Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau totaled five more as Toronto overcame a staggering 57 shots by Columbus in a 6-3 win on Wednesday. "My linemates contributed just as much as I did. They found me, I just tried to get open, and the puck seemed to find me," the 27-year-old Kadri said of a line has erupted for 34 points since being formed on Jan. 24. Marner had three assists in the first meeting with Pittsburgh, which saw Evgeni Malkin score in that contest and extend his home point streak to six games with an empty-net tally in Thursday's 3-1 triumph over Los Angeles. The 2012 Hart Trophy recipient has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) in his last 12 contests at PPG Paints Arena while captain Sidney Crosby has 20 points in the last 10 games and former Maple Leaf Phil Kessel has 18 in that same stretch.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet (Toronto), AT&T Sportsnet-Pittsburgh

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (35-19-5): Mike Babcock isn't one to freely distribute verbal bouquets, but Toronto's coach was quick to applaud Frederik Andersen after the 28-year-old netminder turned aside a career-high 54 shots on Wednesday. "That's Freddie's effort. Freddie was real good; we weren't very good for some reason," Babcock said. "(The Blue Jackets) had jump and we didn't. But we scored early and then we were able to score on our chances and Freddie was outstanding and we had some guys who really battled." Andersen made 33 saves in the December meeting with Pittsburgh to even his career mark at 2-2-0 against the club.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (33-22-4): Matt Murray celebrated his 100th career start on Thursday with a 34-save performance to improve to 6-0-1 in his last seven starts while boosting his save percentage to .924 in his last 10 outings. "Our D were doing a great job of getting stick and bodies, and letting me see the puck. When they do that, it makes my job a whole lot easier," Murray said. Fellow 23-year-old Zach Aston-Reese scored for the first time on the power play and has three goals in the last two contests - including two-game winning tallies in as many outings.

OVERTIME

1. Marner has collected 13 points (seven goals, six assists) over his last 10 games while Marleau has erupted for six (two goals, four assists) in his past three.

2. Penguins D Kris Letang has recorded a point in back-to-back contests and has four (one goal, three assists) in his last four games.

3. Toronto C Tyler Bozak scored two goals and set up another in the teams' first meeting, but has been limited to just two goals in his last 29 games.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Penguins 3