Leafs welcome Pens in second half of teams’ home-and-home series

It's a busy night in the NHL, with eight games on the slate. For the second time in a week, the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Will the Leafs get revenge for Tuesday night's massive defeat, or are the Pens going for the sweep in this season series?

Toronto Maple Leafs: moment of thruth

The Toronto Maple Leafs are considered by many to be the largest ice hockey team in the world, but it's possible that the Leafs will miss out on the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. Toronto is currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division and tenth in the Eastern Conference. Should the regular season come to an end today, the two wildcard tickets will go to two Metro Division teams.

With an average of 3.5 goals per game, the Leafs are among the most productive teams of the NHL, but defensively, the hockey team is looking far too vulnerable. The injuries of defenders Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci are a big blow for coach Sheldon Keefe. Last Tuesday, Toronto played the first game of back-to-back games against the Penguins. In Pittsburgh, the Leafs were completely outclassed and eventually went down 5-2.

Pittsburgh Penguins: new division leaders

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to amaze this season. In recent months, one major force after another has been injured, yet the Penguins took the lead in the Metro Division last Tuesday at the expense of the Washington Capitals. Just before the end of 2019, Jake Guentzel, who was having a great season, was injured on his shoulder and with Jason Zucker, a worthy replacement was finally brought in a week and a half ago. Zucker is in good shape with three goals and an assist in his first duels.

Evgeni Malkin had to miss the home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday due to an injury, but looks fit for the second half of back-to-back games against the Leafs in Toronto tonight. Last Tuesday it was the big Sidney Crosby show. The captain of the Pens was good for one goal and three assists during the 5-2 victory.

Pittsburgh Incl. OT & Penalty shootout / Over 6 goals

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have to work on their defense in the coming weeks, as coach Sheldeon Keefe has one of the NHL's least stable defenses at his disposal. The injured defenders Reilly and Ceci are also on the sidelines for a few more weeks, so it doesn't look good for Toronto. Both teams have tremendous scoring power and during the two previous meetings between the Penguins and the Leafs this season there were a lot of goals ((5-2 & 6-1 win for the Penguins), so I'm giving the over a good chance to succeed in this game as well.