TORONTO, Ontario - Now this is what the Pens needed. 

It wasn't so much the win. Though they'll take the two points. 

It wasn't so much who they beat. Though it certainly helps a team's confidence when you can beat the team with the best record in the NHL, and do it on the road for good measure. 

What the Pens needed was a gut check, and a gutsy performance. And that's exactly what they got in Thursday night's 3-0 victory against Toronto at Scotiabank Arena. 

There was a lot to like about the Pens' game. 

TORONTO -- Matt Murray made 38 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

During the Penguins' 3-2 overtime loss to Vancouver Oct. 16 at PPG Paints Arena, Derick Brassard played left wing on Sidney Crosby's line. Afterward, Brassard talked about the differences between playing wing and center, his usual position.

"There are still details," Brassard said. "Like coming back into your zone and trying to be there for your defensemen on the boards instead of coming back and being in the middle of the ice. That's for sure different."

Not anymore.

It's been 30 years since Mario Lemieux scored a career-high 199 points in 1988-1989, the most remarkable statistical season in Penguins history. So it's only appropriate that this week's version of the "A Great Day For Hockey Talk" podcast checks in with both of Mario's linemates from that season - left wing Bob Errey, currently a Penguins TV analyst with AT&T SportsNet, and right wing Rob Brown, a radio analyst for the Edmonton Oilers.

Highlights include:

• A discussion about what it was like playing on Mario's line
• What it was like having Paul Coffey and Mario on the ice at the same time
• Rob Brown discusses his famous windmill goal celebration
• Brown's life lessons that he's learned from his autistic daughter, Annie
• Plus, Paul Steigerwald briefly chats with hall-of-fame defenseman, Paul Coffey 

All episodes of A Great Day for Hockey Talk are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Google Play. 

For more informations on Penguins Podcasts, visit our podcast page. 

The Pens left Wednesday for one of their longest road trips of the season, which kicks off Thursday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. The trip will include stops in Banff - the resort town in Alberta - Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Overall, the Pens will be gone for a total of 12 days, and they're looking forward to having some team bonding during that time, especially considering their up-and-down start to the season.

"I think this is the best road trip timing I've ever been part of," Patric Hornqvist said. "We were struggling and now it starts for 12 days here. We're going to have some fun on the rink and off the rink and start to know each other and start to play for each other. I think it'll be great.

"We just have to take advantage and get to know each other a little better and get on the same page. If you do that off the ice, I'm pretty sure if we are going to do that on the ice too."

This season, Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan have teamed up to buy four season tickets to benefit children and families through the Allegheny Family Network (AFN).

Their new "Seats for Strength" program was created in conjunction with AFN, whose mission is to "support and partner with families rearing children who have emotional and mental health needs in order to improve their quality of life."

But not only are Rust and Sheahan providing the seats - they're also bringing the families down after every home game for a meet and greet afterward. The group accompanies a staff member from the Penguins Foundation to the hallway outside the locker room, where they wait for Rust and Sheahan to come out. Oftentimes, they get to watch the players come down the runway and watch as they do the Three Stars ceremony and postgame interviews.

The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm) are teaming up to provide $100,000 to renovate a local community hockey rink this season - in a new contest called "Renovate the Rink."

From now until November 30, fans can nominate a community rink in Western Pennsylvania that deserves a renovation.

Thoughts, musings and observations from the Pens' 3-2 overtime loss to Vancouver at PPG Paints Arena…

Game Date
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Opponent
Vancouver Canucks

Place
PPG Paints Arena

Game Time
7:00PM

Doors Open
6:00PM

IBEW Warm-Ups Begin
6:29 PM

Promotional Item
Team Calendar presented by Highmark

TV
AT&T SportsNet

RADIO
105.9 FM, the X

NOTABLES
* The Pens are 2-1 at home this season. 

* Defenseman Justin Schultz suffered a lower left leg fracture and underwent surgery. He will be out for 4 months.

* Phil Kessel has 4 goals in his past 2 games, including a hat trick. 

* The Pens switched up their forward combinations and Derick Brassard is skating with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.

* The Pens' PK has gone 12 for 13 (92.3%) on the season, including a big 5-on-3 (1:48) kill against Montreal on Saturday. Pittsburgh's percentage ranks 3rd in the NHL.

* The Canucks are in the midst of a 6-game road trip. They are 2-2 so far. 

* Vancouver rookie Elias Pettersson is the team's leading scorer with 8 points (5G-3A), but will miss the contest with a concussion.

* Brock Boeser has killed the Pens in his short career. In just 2 games Boeser has 5 goals, including a hat trick, and 6 points.

INJURIES
PIT - Justin Schultz (lower leg fracture). 

VAN - Jay Beagle (broken forearm), Elias Pettersson (concussion).