Crosby-less Penguins count on Malkin to step up vs. Leafs
The host Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs each will try to quickly shake off a loss when they meet Saturday.
Both teams played and traveled Friday night.
The Penguins, in their first game since team captain and league star Sidney Crosby underwent sports hernia surgery, fell 2-1 at New Jersey, leaving them 4-2-2 in their past eight games.
"Just forget this game and play (Saturday)," Penguins center Evgeni Malkin said.
Pittsburgh has dealt with a series of injuries. Top defenseman Kris Letang and winger Patric Hornqvist remain out, and center Nick Bjugstad left Friday's game because of an unspecified injury.
One of the key players the Penguins are counting on to fill the void is Malkin. He has 66 goals and 161 points in 122 games with Crosby out of the lineup, but he had his four-game point streak halted Friday.
Toronto fell at home against Boston 4-2 on Friday and has lost four straight -- a game longer than any losing streak the club had last season.
While he doesn't equal Crosby's status, Toronto center Alexander Kerfoot missed his first game after dental surgery.
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has three goals, 11 points during a six-game point streak, including a goal Friday.
The Maple Leafs open a six-game road trip Saturday.
Both teams have a player acquired by trade who has fallen short of expectations.
For the Penguins, it's winger Alex Galchenyuk, who came over from Arizona in the Phil Kessel deal. A one-time 30-goal scorer, he was slowed earlier this season by injury and has no goals in the 10 games he has played -- although he picked up an assist, his 300th career point, in his 500th career game Friday.
"I know I'm not where I want to be, and I know I've got to be better," Galchenyuk said. "Adversity is a part of the season, and I've just got to find a way to get out of it.
"Obviously, when I get the puck across the goal line, the game will be a little bit easier. But at the same time, you can't just focus on that. I have to focus on every aspect of the game and improve it all. That's where my head is."
For the Maple Leafs, offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie, acquired from Colorado, has no goals in 21 games. He figures his slower-than-expected start mirrors that of the team in general.
"We have learned that we are still learning," Barrie told the Globe and Mail. "We had a lot of expectations, and I don't think anybody would have been surprised if we got out on an unbelievable start. But that hasn't been the case. We are trying to find our way a little bit.
"We have all the talent in the world here. We just have to use it."
The Saturday game is expected to feature a matchup of backup goaltenders.
Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry would be making just his fourth start and his fifth appearance. He is 1-3-0 but has a respectable 2.26 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
For Toronto, Kasimir Kaskisuo, 26, is expected to make his NHL debut after the Maple Leafs waived Michael Hutchinson this week. Kaskisuo, an undrafted Finn, was 6-1-1 with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
--Field Level Media