Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs Live Stream 12/08/2024

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs Live Streams

🔊Will the “Penguins” manage to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference’s playoff eight? Pittsburgh had an excellent winning streak at the end of November but lost their last match to a direct competitor. Toronto, on the other hand, has stumbled a bit, suffering two defeats in their last five games. In the upcoming clash, each opponent will try to overcome their setbacks.

Head-to-head

The opponents have already faced each other in the current regular season. In mid-October, the Canadian club secured a confident home victory with a score of 4-2. The result was achieved by Toronto forward William Nylander, who scored a double.

Pittsburgh

The “Penguins” have slightly improved their standings by winning four consecutive games. This surge allowed Mike Sullivan’s team to get close to the Eastern Conference’s playoff eight. Among others, they defeated Boston (2-1) and Florida (5-4 OT). However, hopes for continuing the winning streak were dashed. The encounter with the Rangers (2-4) became an insurmountable obstacle. Nevertheless, they are only two points away from the playoff zone, and the team is quite capable of overcoming this distance.

Toronto

Craig Berube’s team continues to stick to their defensive formation. This tactic is yielding good dividends. In their last ten games, the “Maple Leafs” have secured seven victories and are among the leaders of the Eastern Conference. But most importantly, the main coaching idea is clearly visible. Toronto has conceded the fewest goals in the East – only 66. Such a performance hasn’t been seen in Canada’s main hockey city for a long time. The task for the coaching staff and players is to maintain this pace as long as possible.

Projected lineups

Pittsburgh: Nedeljkovic – Karlsson, Pettersson – Rust, Crosby, Rakell

Toronto: Stolarz – Tanev, Ekman-Larsson – Knies, Matthews, Marner

Goalkeepers

Pittsburgh’s goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic plays quite rarely and not very effectively. Specifically, in the game against the Rangers, he managed to save only 87.5% of shots on his goal. The American sometimes makes costly mistakes.

Toronto’s goalie Anthony Stolarz continues to impress. Throughout the season, the American has an average save percentage of 92.3% with a goals-against average of 2.22. This is impressive statistics for a netminder who has spent most of his career as a backup.

Editorial prediction

Almost all of Toronto’s recent matches have been quite low-scoring. This is a result of the Canadian club’s tactic of minimizing any offensive activity. Pittsburgh, which is experiencing issues in attack, is perfectly suited for another defensive masterclass by the “Maple Leafs.” The visitors will try to keep things simple and not push events. Our key bet is total under 6.5 pucks.