TORONTO -- To quote Foster Hewitt, "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland!"
Yep, it's a "Hockey Night in Canada." And it's the Penguins against the Maple Leafs, two Eastern Conference powers, at the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto, the capital of the sport in this hockey-mad country.
No matter how many of these nationally-televised games that even a veteran like Sidney Crosby has played in, it's always special.
"It's great," said the pride of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. "I don't think it ever gets old. You always get up for those games."
1. Phil returns to T.O.
Some in Toronto might not like Phil Kessel, but apparently he likes it enough to still call it home in the offseason.
This will be Kessel's fourth game back where he played five seasons from 2009-15 and became the Maple Leafs' 18th all-time leading goal-scorer (181) and 20th in points (394).
Since being dealt to Pittsburgh, Kessel has just a goal and assist in eight games against the Leafs. But this version might be his best yet at age 30. He is in arguably the best condition of his career and that has been reflected in his play. His 36 power play points lead the NHL, while his 77 total points -- five shy of a career high with 13 games to play -- are seventh overall. He's already exceeded his career best for assists with 49. In the past five games alone, he has two goals and five assists.
Needless to say, this new and improved Kessel would love nothing more than to show it off tonight at the Air Canada Centre.
2. Getting to Frederik Andersen.
Only eight goaltenders have ever been awarded the Hart Trophy as league MVP, but only three -- Dominik Hasek twice (1997, '98), Jose Theodore ('02) and Carey Price ('15) -- have won in the post-1967 expansion era.
However, Andersen is making a fairly compelling argument for himself to be the fourth this season.
While Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina as the top goalie, where would the Leafs be without Andersen?
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound great Dane is fourth in both wins (32) and shutouts (5), to go along with his fine 2.78 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
Most impressive though has been Andersen's durability. He leads the league in starts (56) and saves (1,741) on a Toronto team that's defensively deficient. Consider: The Leafs allow 34.0 shots per game, fourth-most in the NHL, yet allow just 2.84 goals per game, which ranks 20th. That's a testament to Andersen's value.
All that said, the Penguins are 1-1 against Andersen this season, scoring on eight of 75 shots. This figures to be a high-scoring game either way.
3. Who fills in for Auston Matthews?
Toronto's second-year star will sit out his sixth straight game after suffering a shoulder injury on Feb. 22 against the Islanders. He has been missed.
Matthews, who is not expected to play until next week at the earliest, had just one assist in the first two games against the Penguins. But the Leafs, who have not played since Monday, are just 1-2-2 without their leading goal scorer (28).
Without Matthews, it's likely that Tomas Plekanec will draw the assignment of trying to slow down Evgeni Malkin, who has been the NHL's most dominant player the last two months.
This will be Plekanec's first home game in Toronto after being acquired at the deadline from Montreal where the 35-year-old played the first 14 seasons of his career. He has 25 points (10 goals) in 42 career games against the Penguins but is without a point in his first four games with the Leafs.
It's also possible that Patrick Marleau will move to center with William Nylander shifting to left wing.