Pittsburgh Penguins: Lessons Learned vs. Toronto
By Rob Joncas
The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night, with the Maple Leafs vowing revenge and with some serious playoff implications on the line for Toronto, their next encounter should be a tighter affair.
While we wait to see the outcome of the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night’s tilt vs. Toronto, here’s a look at a few things you may find interesting from the illustrious histories of the clubs.
Full Disclosure
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. will the mark the 188th time the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs have suited up against each other. The Penguins presently hold the season series advantage, with a cumulative record of 87-76-7-17 through 187 games.
Leading scorers
Evgeni Malkin leads the charge for the current crop of Penguins, as he has scored 22 goals and 64 points in 38 games vs. Toronto. Malkin also has accumulated the most penalty minutes vs. the Maple Leafs, earning 74 PIM or an avg. of 1.95 penalty minutes per game in those 38 contests.
Sidney Crosby is not far behind Malkin with 28 goals and 63 points. If Crosby can replicate his output from Tuesday’s encounter with Toronto, he should have no issue taking the number one spot.
Kris Letang – 28 points (3g, 25a), Bryan Rust – 12 points (4g, 8a) and Patric Hornqvist – 6 points (3g, 3a) round out the top five scorers vs. Toronto
Between the Pipes
Despite not owning a winning record, Casey DeSmith holds the best goals-against-average in games against Toronto. DeSmith has appeared in three games, with a record of 0-1-0 and a goals-against-average of 1.01. Matt Murray ranks second among Penguins goalkeepers, earning a record of 3-2-1 in 7 games played, with one shutout and a goals-against-average of 2.27. Tristan Jarry rounds out the top three with a record of 2-1-0 through four games played, with a goals-against-average of 3.34.
Wide Margin of Victory
Dec. 26, 1991, marked the single best game, by score, the Penguins put together against the Maple Leafs.
Pittsburgh obliterated Toronto by a score of 12-1 in front of the hometown crowd. Mario Lemieux dazzled spectators with a 7 point (2g, 5a) performance, with Joe Mullen – 6 points (4g, 2a) and Kevin Stevens – 6 points (2g, 4a) not finishing far behind.
Tom Barrasso finished the game with 30 saves on 31 shots, while Gran Fuhr took the loss at the other end of the ice, as he made 12 saves on 26 shots.
We need to travel back to the beginning of the 1980’s to find a game where the Leafs came close to racking up double-digit goals against Pittsburgh.
On Jan. 7, 1980, the Maple Leafs handed the Penguins a 9-5 loss. Greg Millen faced 48 shots during the game and made 39 saves. While Maple Leafs goaltender Vincent Tremblay made 37 saves on 42 shots.
Two and NO
The Penguins and Maple Leafs have only met twice in post-season play. Their first encounter was in the preliminary round of the 1976 play-offs where the Leafs took the series 2-1.
Their second match-up occurred 23 years later in the 1999 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where the Leafs rattled off three consecutive victories to capture the series 4-2. Ironically, it was former Penguin Garry Valk that scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of game six.
Enemy Lines
Here are a few players that played for both franchises during the course of their careers.
Syl Apps, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Mike Eastwood, Grant Jennings, Ron Francis, Tom Barrasso. Tim Horton, Phil Kessel.
Do you have any memories from Penguins vs. Maple Leafs games? Drop them in the comment section below.