TORONTO -- Imagine, if you can, a power play unit that features five of the most highly-skilled offensive players, going 0-for-5 with a man-advantage in a game? Crazy, right?
That was the Penguins in their first game back following their bye week Monday night against the Devils. And that was also the Maple Leafs last night in their first game in eight days, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Detroit last night.
Fortunately for Mike Babcock, his team didn't cough up a shorthanded goal. But the Leafs' coach did tinker with his power play, which now ranks 12th in the league and has struggled mightily since Christmas.
Babcock moved William Nylander up to the top unit to skate with John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly, while sending Nazem Kadri down to the second unit. Nothing worked for the Leafs, who were out-shot 35-21 against a Detroit team that is going nowhere.
In hindsight, Babcock said he should not have made the move in-game without the benefit of a practice.
“It didn’t work out,” the NHL's highest-paid coach said Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. He added that he constantly thinks of new ways to improve the power play or his line combinations and pairings.
“Oh, yeah, we’ve considered lots of things," he said. "So, just think, if you (media) are thinking about it, just think how much I’m thinking about it.”
Mike Sullivan, you'll recall, threatened to blow up his top power play unit after New Jersey's Brian Boyle scored the 11th short-handed goal against the Penguins this season on Monday. That never quite materialized and it won't happen again tonight with Evgeni Malkin sitting out a second straight game with an upper body injury. After going 0-for-2 against the Senators, the Penguins are now 0-for-10 since the break.
The Maple Leafs' struggles on the power play coincide with their mid-season slide. Though they are still in a playoff spot, they have lost five of their last seven and are now 15 points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning, who the Penguins beat handily on Wednesday.
With the Red Wings' ceremony for retiring Red Kelly's jersey running long, Friday night's game at Detroit didn't start until 8:20 p.m. That meant that the Penguins, despite playing Friday night in Pittsburgh against the Senators, beat the Maple Leafs to Toronto early Saturday morning.
The Penguins did not hold a morning skate, but Babcock assembled the Leafs for meetings at 11 a.m. Obviously, that featured a lot of video on the power play.
THE COMBINATIONS
• The Penguins’ expected lines/pairings tonight:
Guentzel-Crosby-Simon
Rust-Bjugstad-Kessel
Pearson-McCann-Hornqvist
Wilson-Cullen-Blueger
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Riikola
Pettersson-Johnson
• And for the Leafs:
Marleau-Matthews-Marner
Hyman-Tavares-Kapanen
Brown-Kadri-Nylander
Lindholm-Gauthier-Johnsson
Muzzin-Rielly
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Hainsey
THE INJURIES
• Evgeni Malkin will be out again with an upper-body injury. More on that here.
• Justin Schultz, defenseman, has been out since October with a fractured leg. He could return as soon as next week.
• Zach Aston-Reese, right winger, is out with a broken left hand.
THE SESSION
• As expected, Sullivan confirmed that Matt Murray will start in goal. Not only is Murray 11-2 since returning from injury in mid-December, he is 3-1-1 in his career against the Leafs. He is 1-1 this season, including a 38-save shutout at Scotiabank Arena on Oct. 18.
After taking the loss in Monday's game against the Devils, Murray responded with a 33-save performance against the NHL-leading Lightning. With the help of a few practices, Sullivan wasn't surprised to see Murray bounce back.
"We know that he'll settle in here, he's a real good goalie," the coach said.
• Actually, each of the first two Penguins-Maple Leafs games this season has featured a shutout. Toronto scored a 5-0 win at PPG Paints Arena in the last meeting on Nov. 3. Obviously much has changed since then for both teams, but Sullivan said that the Penguins have to be smart with their decision-making against a team like the Leafs, who are averaging 3.52 goals per game, fifth-best in the NHL.
"They have a lot of firepower, a lot of team speed," Sullivan said. "We have to make sure that we're managing the puck, forcing them to play goal line to goal line. Don't give them too many easy opportunities."
• The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on Saturday that Senators forward Zach Smith was fined $5,500 for his elbowing penalty on Marcus Pettersson at 6:46 of the second period Friday. That is the maximum fine allowed by the CBA.
• With just 24 hours under their belts as Penguins, the plan is the same tonight for Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann: Keep it simple. Sullivan said both players have a basic understanding of his system but he doesn't want to overload them at this point. As remarkable as what Bjugstad and McCann were able to do Friday night, arriving minutes before the puck dropped, Sullivan says it's largely an instinctive game.
"Sometimes you play your best hockey on adrenaline and let your instincts take over," he said. "It really is a players’ game, an instinctive sport, especially with the puck."
• Sullivan is a New England native and a Patriots fan, but he doesn't mix business with pleasure. He sternly declined to make a prediction on tomorrow's Super Bowl, saying he's "focused on hockey." But he did add that he does admire Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. "I have a lot of respect for people who have success," he said.
• Jake Muzzin, acquired from the Kings last week, will play his first game at Scotiabank Arena in the blue and white of his hometown team. Muzzin made his Leafs debut Friday, playing 18:08 in the loss. The veteran defenseman was paired with Rielly, who shifted over to the right side. Rielly, who is the third-leading scorer among defensemen with 51 points, reported no problems with the shift.
“We said let's not get into a panic situation if we are on the off-side," he said. "Jake played there too and he’s a very good player. Once the game gets going, you are on both sides anyways. We just said to each other that we shouldn’t panic when it happens. Jake’s a great player and its great when we can add a player like that to our team.”
• Babcock confirmed that he'll keep the same lineup, except starting goalie Frederik Andersen. That means that Garrett Sparks will be in net.
• Unlike Bjugstad and McCann, Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan didn't make it down to South Florida for the Panthers' game against the Predators, a 4-1 loss. Both former Penguins will make their debuts tonight when the Panthers host the Golden Knights. Though there is speculation that one or both could be flipped before the trade deadline, Brassard doesn't seem fazed.
"I'm super excited to be here," Brassard told reporters Saturday. "Waking up and seeing the sun, it was awesome. I feel like our team is really close here. We're obviously in a big playoff push. Me and Riley (Sheahan) are going to try to come in here and try to help the team."
THE SCHEDULE
Face-off is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena. The Penguins will be off on Sunday and will return to practice Monday morning at the Lemieux Complex. They will host the Hurricanes on Tuesday night.
THE COVERAGE
Here's DK, Taylor, and Sunday's stuff from last night's game on our Penguins team page.