Penguins at Maple Leafs preview

PENGUINS (37-15-6) at MAPLE LEAFS (31-22-8)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, TSN4, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin is feeling a lot better. The center was a late scratch with an illness before a 5-2 win against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
The Penguins lead the Washington Capitals by one point for first in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh has won three in a row and is 12-3-1 in its past 16 games.
The Maple Leafs are 1-3-0 in their past four games and tied with the Florida Panthers for third in the Atlantic Division.

Players to watch

Penguins center Sidney Crosby has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) during a five-game point streak. He is two assists from 800 in the NHL.
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past four games. His 43 goals are tied with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for the NHL lead.

They said it

"I would expect them to be a motivated group. Points are important always, especially this time of year. Playing a team twice in a row like this, I expect the intensity and emotion to be pretty high. They're important games for both teams." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"I think it's definitely a good thing for us. We're playing a really, really good team on back-to-back games. We know they're going to play their game, work hard again and we have to change the narrative of what these last two games against Pittsburgh and Buffalo (5-2 loss Sunday) have been for us." -- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews

Penguins projected lineup

Jason Zucker -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Jared McCann -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Brandon Tanev -- Teddy Blueger -- Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Kahun -- Andrew Agozzino -- Sam Lafferty
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola -- Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched:Anthony Angello, Zach Trotman
Injured:Nick Bjugstad (core), Jake Guentzel (shoulder), Brian Dumoulin (left ankle tendon laceration), John Marino (facial fracture), Zach Aston-Reese (lower body)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
Alex Kerfoot -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Kyle Clifford -- Jason Spezza -- Denis Malgin
Pierre Engvall -- Frederik Gauthier -- Kasperi Kapanen
Martin Marincin -- Tyson Barrie
Jake Muzzin -- Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin
-- Travis Dermott
Frederik Andersen
Jack Campbell
Scratched:Timothy Liljegren, Egor Korshkov, Dmytro Timashov
Injured:Ilya Mikheyev (wrist laceration), Morgan Rielly (fractured foot), Cody Ceci (ankle), Andreas Johnsson (meniscus)

Status report

Neither the Penguins nor Maple Leafs held a morning skate. ... Sullivan said Trotman could play because a few defensemen are "nicked up." Trotman was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. ... Malgin will make his Maple Leafs debut. He was acquired in a trade with the Panthers for forward Mason Marchment on Wednesday.

Stat pack

Zucker has four points (three goals, one assist) in four games since he was traded to Pittsburgh by the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 10. … Andersen is 0-3-0 with a 4.42 goals-against average and .835 save percentage since returning from a neck injury Feb. 13.