Pittsburgh Penguins (37-15-6, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (31-22-8, third in the Atlantic Division)
Toronto; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Auston Matthews and Toronto hit the ice against Pittsburgh. Matthews ranks 10th in the league with 72 points, scoring 43 goals and recording 29 assists.
The Maple Leafs are 16-14-6 in conference games. Toronto ranks fourth in the NHL recording 9.2 points per game, averaging 3.5 goals and 5.8 assists.
The Penguins are 17-11-4 against conference opponents. Pittsburgh ranks fifth in the NHL averaging 5.7 assists per game, led by Sidney Crosby with 0.9.
Pittsburgh knocked off Toronto 5-2 in the last meeting between these teams on Feb. 18.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mitchell Marner leads the Maple Leafs with 45 assists and has collected 60 points this season. Matthews has totalled seven goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Bryan Rust leads the Penguins with 23 goals and has 48 points. Crosby has collected 13 assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 7-2-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.4 penalties and 6.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .933 save percentage.
Maple Leafs: 4-5-1, averaging 2.7 goals, five assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .887 save percentage.
INJURIES: Maple Leafs: Frederik Andersen: day to day (neck).
Penguins: Evgeni Malkin: day to day (illness), Zachary Aston-Reese: out (lower body), John Marino: out (fractured cheekbone), Dominik Kahun: day to day (concussion).
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.