Teams going in opposite directions will meet when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon.
The Maple Leafs have won four games in a row and seven of their last eight after Friday night’s 3-2 road victory over the New York Rangers.
The Penguins, in turn, have lost five of their last six after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto’s Matthew Knies scored to snap a tie at 6:21 of the third period on Friday. It was Knies’ career-high 22nd goal of the season.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander also scored for the Maple Leafs. Captain Auston Matthews had an assist on Knies’ winner to extend his point streak to eight games (one goal, 10 assists).
“A little lackluster in my opinion, but we found a way to get a win,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “But I didn’t think we generated enough offensively or got to our game tonight with our forecheck and our hard play down in the offensive zone.
“It was in and out too quick, so we spent too much time playing in our end. But our penalty kill was really good and our goalie was really good. I thought our defense battled hard back there, but we didn’t do enough with the puck.”
Ekman-Larsson sustained an undisclosed injury and did not return in the third period.
Mitch Marner leads Toronto in assists (56) and points (74), while Nylander has a club-best 34 goals. In addition to Knies, John Tavares (22) and Matthews (21) have over 20 goals for the Maple Leafs.
Anthony Beauvillier and Rickard Rakell each scored a goal for Pittsburgh on Saturday, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 23 saves.
“The common theme is we need more purposeful play so we’re harder to play against,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I’m not going to single out anything. This is a group effort. I think we could’ve done a better job.
“They got behind us more than we’d like. … We, as a group, have to be better.”
Bruins’ star David Pastrnak scored on Boston’s first shot, making the third straight game that Pittsburgh has surrendered the game’s opening goal.
“They all happen different ways,” Nedeljkovic said. “I think for a majority of them, it’s just about starting on time for everybody. Some things are preventable. Some things, they just happen, and that’s hockey.”
He also stopped Pastrnak on a penalty shot with 3:38 into the third period.
“(Nedeljkovic) was huge,” the Penguins’ Bryan Rust said. “I don’t think we came out with the game or the energy that we would have liked, and they jumped out to a lead. I think after that lead, he was incredible. He made every save. Made some big saves for us, obviously. The penalty shot was huge, too.”
–Field Level Media
