Pittsburgh Penguins (28-17-9, 65 pts) at Toronto Maple Leafs (27-22-6, 60 pts)
Prior meetings:
Pens 8, Leafs 2 on January 20th
Pens 4, Leafs 1 on December 29th
Since the Pens last saw the Leafs on January 20th (and delivered an 8-2 thrashing), the Leafs have been 5-1, losing only on Thursday in Nashville. Mostly they've done it with defense and goal tending, allowing a total of 6 goals in the 5 wins.
The Pens are still on a roll, with a 10-0-2 streak on the line. They haven't lost in regulation since January 10th at Florida. Tonight, however, will be tough.
The Pens have really struggled with their penalty kill on the road, killing only 11 of 17 chances in their last 5 games. In fact, they've only shut out an opponent on the power play on the road TWICE all season (December 26th at New Jersey and November 24th at Long Island, in case you're wondering). That's not good. Give Toronto an early power play goal or two and they'll kick the stuffing out of the Pens.
So that's my theme for this one - stop the Leafs on the power play. Do that, and you'll have a good shot to win the game with the way Fleury has been playing lately.
Leafs blog - Check out Raking Leafs, which is well written, though it's really green on the background...
I don't have a great feeling about this one, but I'm thinking the effort will be there, and Sid has to be ready to bust out after no points on Thursday (along with Malkin).
Let's Go Pens!
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1 comment:
I agree about having a bad feeling on this one. You know the Toronto fans are going to be a rowdy bunch, but if the Pens play keep Toronto off the PP and the 3rd and 4th lines keep producing we can walk away with 2 points. Another good test for the Pens.
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