The Toronto Maple Leafs did not get the result they wanted against the San Jose Sharks on Friday night. They will need to forget about the loss quickly as they prepare to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing a hockey game outside of Canada for the first time in 596 days.
Their last game in the United States was on March 6th, 2020 in Anaheim against the Ducks. That game seems like a lifetime ago after everything that has happened worldwide since then.
Prior to Friday’s game against the Sharks, fans were left wondering why the game was starting at 6pm and not the normal 7pm. Turns out that the Toronto Maple Leafs had asked the NHL if they could start the game one hour earlier so the team has more time for getting through US customs.
Many of the Leafs players, especially US born players are excited about playing their first game in the US since March 2020. Hopefully none of the players will have any trouble getting through customs and the team can ice a full lineup Saturday night.
Toronto Maple Leafs Versus Pittsburgh Penguins
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to get back in the win column against a very depleted Penguins lineup. This could be a great chance for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to score their first goal of the season.
The Penguin who are already without Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby due to injury will now be without Jeff Carter. Carter tested positive for COVID-19 and have entered COVID protocol.
Tristan Jarry will play net for the Penguins tonight.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have their starter Jack Campbell between the pipes against the Penguins. Campbell is having a good start to his season with 2-0-1 record. He has only allowed four goals on 86 shots for a 1.18 GAA and a .953 SV%. Another good game from Campbell should help both him and the team get their third win of the season. (Stats: Hockey-Reference.com)
The Leafs need to take full advantage of a depleted Penguins team. Campbell needs to continue his hot start while Toronto’s star players need to start putting the puck in the net. Will Saturday’s game against the Penguins be the start of a good road trip for Toronto? We can only hope so.