The Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the top teams in the NHL, will have a chance to bounce back from a rare loss when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Toronto had been on a strong run, winning three games in a row and 10 of their last 12, which put them at the top of the Atlantic Division. However, they were stopped in a 3-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday.
The Penguins also faced a setback on Friday, losing 4-2 to the New York Rangers, which ended their four-game winning streak.
Before the Capitals game, the Maple Leafs had won five straight home games and set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive road victory.
The game was tied 1-1 until Washington’s Connor McMichael scored at 9:51 of the third period, followed by an empty-net goal from Aliaksei Protas in the last minute.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said, “Instead of just going the other way with the puck, we brought it back too much tonight. It started from the first period on for the whole game. That eventually bit us and cost us. We didn’t play a north game, we didn’t play fast tonight. They were the better team. They deserved to win.”
The Capitals did a good job keeping Toronto’s Auston Matthews off the scoreboard. Matthews had missed nine games due to an upper-body injury but had returned to score against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and added two goals against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.
Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs’ right winger, had his eight-game point streak end against the Capitals. During the streak, he had five goals and 11 assists.
Marner averages at least a point a game against 24 of the 32 teams in the NHL, including the Penguins. He has 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 21 games against Pittsburgh.
Like the Maple Leafs, the Penguins struggled in the third period on Friday. Reilly Smith of the Rangers scored the game-winning goal at 9:53 of the third period, and Vincent Trocheck added an insurance goal at 18:22.
Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves against the Rangers, but Tristan Jarry is expected to start against the Maple Leafs. Jarry has a 5-3-0 record against Toronto, with a .909 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average. His most recent game against the Leafs was on Dec. 16, 2023, when he allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled in the second period during a 7-0 loss.
Blake Lizotte scored the first goal against the Rangers, continuing his strong performance in his first season with the Penguins. He has five goals in 12 games, compared to seven goals in 62 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season.
Philip Tomasino also scored his third goal in five games for Pittsburgh since being traded from the Predators on Nov. 25 for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
On Saturday, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan will coach his 700th game with the franchise. He will become the 21st person to coach at least 700 games for a single NHL team.
Sullivan said, “I am so privileged to have the opportunity to coach here in Pittsburgh. It’s a first-class organization. Been through a couple of ownership groups. Both groups bring such first-class leadership to what we do here.”
