The Pittsburgh Penguins (31-11-8) will go for their fifth consecutive win in Thursday’s fascinating matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs (31-12-3).
Sidney Crosby has just scored his 500th career goal and bookmaker Bovada has the odds at +125 for the Penguins captain to score again. Meanwhile, Auston Matthews is the likeliest Leafs scorer with the odds at +110.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 17th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
Crosby became the 46th player in NHL history to hit the 500-goal mark with a power-play tally in Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime victory against Philadelphia. He’s 34 years old now but still continues to perform at a very high level.
No. 87 has racked up 46 points in 38 outings this season and he’s done most of his damage since the turn of the year, notching 28 points in 20 games. With their captain in top form, the Penguins have been on an incredible run with only three regulation losses in 2022.
Pittsburgh went through a bit of a sticky patch a few weeks ago with four consecutive defeats but the team has bounced back with a nice run of four consecutive wins.
The Maple Leafs have been on a hot run as well in 2022 going 11-4-1 in 16 games. It’s been almost impossible to stop Matthew’s line with Mitchell Marner and Michael Bunting. Toronto’s star man has recorded an incredible 18 points during his current nine-game point streak.
Matthews had a very slow start to the season, but he’s still found a way to climb near the top of the goal-scoring charts and is very well placed to take home his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy.
The Leafs leaned on their goal-tending and defense a lot early in the campaign, but they now have the fourth-best offensive record in the league with a 3.59 goals-for average and should be very confident of ending Pittsburgh’s streak on Thursday.
The Penguins have the third-best defensive record with a 2.54 goals-against average, so this will almost be like a clash of two different philosophies. A low-scoring affair should suit the visitors better and the under is 4-0 in the last four head-to-head meetings in Toronto.
Goals also came at a premium when these teams met for the first time this season on November 20. Tristan Jarry posted a 26-save shutout and Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter took care of the goals in a 2-0 road victory for the Penguins. Pittsburgh has won four of the last five meetings in the match-up, but they have lost five of their last seven trips to Toronto.
