Toronto Maple Leafs: Sidney Crosby Returning to Form

Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins in hopes of a better result.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have not been playing their best hockey the last few weeks and it has been nothing short of frustrating to watch.

This rough stretch began roughly two weeks ago when the Leafs were shutout by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time around, the teams will meet up in Pittsburgh with the Leafs hoping to have a more favourable result this time around.

To do that, one thing the Leafs will need to do is try and shut down Sidney Crosby, who is quickly heating up along with the rest of the Penguins.

In his last six games, he has recorded 6 goals, 4 assists, and 10 points including a five-game point streak which began, coincidentally enough, against the Leafs. He has also posted an impressive 59.3 Corsi-for%, a GF% of 76.92%, a SCF% of 61.58, and a 1.086 PDO.

He’s not the only one that has been that has been on a roll to start the season. At the time of writing this article, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are ranked 2nd and 13th respectively in scoring across the entire NHL. As a whole, the Penguins are currently 4th the league in goals with 45.

In short, the Leafs will have their work cut out for them on Saturday night to limit the offensive juggernaut the Penguins have once again become. Players like Nazem Kadri and John Tavares will each be tasked at both shutting down and applying offensive pressure all game long.

Should they be successful and the team gets on the scoreboard, anything is possible.

Penguins Lineup

The Penguins have made minimal changes to their lineup throughout the season so far, and you can expect that to continue in tonight’s game.

As per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Penguins will see Crosby alongside Jake Guentzil while Malkin and Kessel are once again slotted with Carl Hagelin. The third line features Patric Hornqvist and Riely Sheahan, and the fourth line features Daniel Sprong and Matt Cullen, who recently turned 42-years-old(!).

While the long-term absence of Justin Schultz to injury hurts the Penguins defence, they are still blessed with incredible talent. Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Brian Dumoulin, and Jamie Oleksiak has been a solid core for Pittsburgh to start the year.

Combine this with a rejuvenated Matt Murray and a solid backup in Casey DeSmith, there’s no wonder the Penguins are once again a Stanley Cup contender. As mentioned earlier, the Leafs no doubt will have their work cut out for them.

Leafs Lineup

The Leafs made a long overdue move by calling up Trevor Moore from the Toronto Marlies. Despite this, Mike Babcock said he won’t be in the lineup tonight since he played yesterday in Cleveland against the Monsters as per Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com. (sorry Mike Stephens)

What this means is that the Leafs lineups are expected to remain relatively unchanged barring an unseen circumstance. The lineups as per Jonas Siegal of The Athletic are nearly identical to what the Leafs used on Thursday night.

Mitch Marner was easily the Toronto Maple Leafs best player against the Dallas Stars on both ends of the ice.  Considering he’s once again lined up with Tavares, another strong game could be in the cards.

Patrick Marleau had a few close calls before finally getting a goal late in the third, so he will no doubt have momentum heading into tonight’s game. Playing alongside Kadri and Kasperi Kapanen will no doubt help his case to return to form.

The third and fourth lines will remain the same too, but keep an eye out for Andreas Johnsson who had his best game of the season against the Stars. He was great on the power play and nearly cashed in a goal, so expect that to continue.

The only change the Leafs will likely make is on the third defensive pairing. Justin Holl played his first game of the season in the Leafs last outing and had a decent showing alongside Travis Dermott. Despite this, Babcock will swamp the former out of the lineup in place of Igor Ozhiganov, who was a healthy scratch on Thursday.

Predictions and Game Notes

I predict we see a Toronto Maple Leafs team with a lot of jump to their game, especially after letting a strong effort against the Stars go to waste. Considering the state of both teams heading into this game, I can confidently say the Leafs won’t be shut out again.

Should the Toronto Maple Leafs keep the Penguins in check while capitalizing on their own scoring chances, they should have a good chance of getting back in the win column. It would also be a nice taste of revenge after losing the previous matchup.

Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and you can watch the game on CBC or Sportsnet One in Canada, and AT&T Sportsnet or NHLN in the U.S.

Thanks for reading!

All stats unless otherwise noted are from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.