The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet in NHL action from the Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night. Two eastern conference heavyweights go toe-to-toe here, who comes out on top? Let’s dive in and give out a Penguins vs. Maple Leafs Prediction.
Pittsburgh Penguins Team Preview
The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 4-3 shootout win over Montreal in their last matchup. Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in scoring with 32 points including 13 goals and a team-high 19 assists while Sidney Crosby has 31 points with a team-high 17 goals. Evgeni Malkin has 24 points with 10 goals and 14 assists while Erik Karlsson’s added 21 points with 15 assists and Bryan Rust has 20 points with 10 goals this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 9-10-2 with a 2.46 GAA and a .917 save percentage while Alex Nedeljkovic has a 3-2-1 record with a 2.29 GAA and a .935 save percentage this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts
- The Penguins have won six of their last seven games as underdogs after coming off a shootout.
- The Penguins have covered the puck line in eight of their last nine games as underdogs after coming off a shootout.
- The Penguins have lost the first period in each of their last four games as underdogs after coming off overtime.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Penguins’ last 14 games following a shootout win.
Toronto Maple Leafs Team Preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs come into this one looking to rebound from a heartbreaking 6-5 OT loss to Columbus last time out after coming back from 5-0 down in the second period. William Nylander leads the Leafs in points with 32 points this season including 13 goals and a team-high 19 assists while Auston Matthews has 27 points with a team-high 18 goals. Mitch Marner has 25 points with 16 assists while John Tavares has 23 points with 7 goals and 16 assists this season. Joseph Woll has posted a 8-5-1 record with a 2.80 GAA and a .916 save percentage while Ilya Samsonov is 5-1-5 with a 3.51 GAA and an .878 save percentage between the pipes for Toronto this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Team Facts
- The Maple Leafs have lost each of their last three games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 10 games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Maple Leafs’ last nine games after coming off overtime.
- The Maple Leafs have lost the first period in each of their last four games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Toronto Maple Leafs ranks T5th in the league for goals per game this season (3.52).
- The Toronto Maple Leafs ranks 6th in the league in power play percentage this season (25.64%).
- The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks T5th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.61).
- The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks 27th in the league in power play percentage this season (13.41%).
Penguins Vs. Maple Leafs Prediction
I’m going with the over here. I think no matter how this game script ends up, it’s going to lend itself towards a higher-scoring game. The Leafs normally give up 4-5 goals a night at home and it’s usually more shocking when they have a decent defensive performance at home. Pittsburgh on the other hand has the weapons offensively, but their goaltending can be shaky at times as well and I think this one flies over the number.
