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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs are two franchises that always have Stanley Cup playoff expectations, but it’s safe to say that their 2024-25 seasons did not get off to the start that they were anticipating. Back on Wednesday night, they were both completely shut out.
Both squads were able to the ice the very next night before a day off heading into this matchup, and they were each able to even their records at 1-1-0. They were also multiple-goal victories, setting us up for a great Eastern Conference clash, and we’ve got our best Penguins vs. Maple Leafs predictions for you.
Time has been ticking for the Pens for a couple of seasons now, especially after Sidney Crosby missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in his career two seasons ago. However, Pittsburgh kept the core together alongside Sid the Kid with Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and the like.
Interestingly enough, they were still sellers at the trade deadline last year, dealing Jake Guentzel, but were just three points out of a playoff spot. This offseason, they traded Reilly Smith to the division rival New York Rangers, but in the same breath, they acquired Sebastian Ago from the other New York team – the Islanders.
Overall, they are still projected to be among the final teams fighting for a spot in the postseason.
As for the Leafs, expectations are far greater. They have the third-shortest odds to win the entire Eastern Conference alongside the aforementioned Rangers. So, seeing them take down the New Jersey Devils the other night bodes well, as they are one of the two Eastern Conference teams with shorter odds (the Florida Panthers being the other).
The issue for Toronto is consistency. The true concern for Leafs fans is postseason success, but we have a long way to go before that can start being discussed. They’ll almost certainly be in the mix for an Atlantic Division title if they stop having huge let-down games like they tend to do against teams like the Arizona Coyotes (now the Utah Hockey Club).
Despite us having just referenced the Leafs’ inconsistencies, those spots primarily occur when facing lesser competition, and they’re overlooking their opponents. Even if the Pens aren’t among the Stanley Cup favorites, they are still a team that Toronto respects.
Sure, we just saw Pittsburgh take it to the Detroit Red Wings, but that has historically been a matchup they have dominated, as they’ve set franchise records against the Wings in recent years. As for facing the Leafs, they lost that season series last year.
After sneaking away with a 3-2 win in their first meeting, Toronto won the next two by a combined score of 10-2. We’ve already seen the Pens’ inability to score this season against competition more on par with the Leafs, which was their season opener against the Rangers.
While we certainly can’t expect another 6-0 beatdown, Toronto can certainly get the job done in their home opener after back-to-back road games to begin their 2024-25 campaign. For a bit of added value, we’ll back them to get the job done by a multi-goal score margin.
Our Pick: Maple Leafs to win by 2+ goals and Auston Matthews to tally 2+ points.
Mark has been a lifelong fan of all sports, and five years ago turned it into a profession, specializing in the NFL, NHL and MLB. He is a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan and has had his work published in sites such as Sports Illustrated, Pickswise and other top outlets.