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| | Travis Green hopes his team can try (18th Jan 19 at 6:32am UTC) | | PITTSBURGH (AP) Olli Maatta has played five seasons with Evgeni Malkin and he’s not sure he’s ever seen his teammate play as well as he is right now.Maatta scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and Malkin had three points to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.”Every time he’s is on the ice http://www.officialcanucks.com/authentic-adidas-henrik-sedin-jersey , he’s scary, but I feel like this season, he’s really taken it to another level,” Maatta said of Malkin. ”It feels like every time he has the puck something is going to happen.”Article continues below ...Malkin had a goal and two assists to top 900 points for his career, becoming the sixth Russian-born and the fourth player in team history to reach the milestone. Malkin, a former Hart, Art Ross and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, has 19 goals and 33 points in his last 20 games.”I’ve played here so long,” Malkin said of his 900th point. ”I’ve played with great teammates and great linemates. It’s amazing to be here. I enjoy it every day.”Bryan Rust, Zach Aston-Reese and Carl Hagelin also scored for the Penguins, who have won 11 straight at home and four in a row overall. Pittsburgh’s home streak is its longest since a franchise-record 13-game run during the 2013-14 season Jacob Markstrom Jersey , and dates back to a 4-0 loss against Carolina on Jan. 4.Matt Murray made 29 saves for the win, extending his streak without a regulation loss to nine decisions. He also tied Jean-Sebastien Aubin for fifth on the team’s all-time wins list with 63.Maatta gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead at 7:56 of the third with a slap shot that beat Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen to the blocker side.Rust sealed the win with his ninth with 3 1/2 minutes remaining to give the Penguins their ninth win in the last 11.”We’re just trying to stay focused on the task at hand,” Murray said. ”If we take care of our business and do what we need to do, we’re going to have a good chance to win night in and night out.”Patrick Marleau, Connor Brown and Tyler Bozak scored for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a five-game winning streak and lost for just the second time in 11 games. Andersen finished with 34 saves.”We were close to winning, but sometimes you’re going to get the short end of the stick,” Andersen said. It’s positive that we’re playing well, but we have to keep working.”Hagelin scored the game’s first goal on a re-directed pass off the rush for his seventh 3 1/2 minutes in, and Brown tied it when he beat Murray to the blocker side with a one-timer for his 13th a little more than three minutes later.Bozak gave Toronto the lead with his ninth midway through the period when he converted a rebound from the top of the crease and Malkin tied it 1:11 later with his 33rd of the season and point No. 900.Aston-Reese put Pittsburgh in front at 5:21 of the second period when he settled a rebound in front and pushed it past Andersen’s outstretched left pad for his third goal in three games.Marleau tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal from between the circles for his 20th with 4:14 remaining in the second.Maatta provided the game-winner in the third and Murray helped the Penguins pick up another win at home.”You never want to give up the lead or give teams a chance to get back into it, and we’ve been doing a good job at that Markus Granlund Jersey , especially when we get the lead,” Murray said. ”It was a pretty even game for the most part, but I think we outplayed them in the third, and that turned out to be the difference.”NOTES: Toronto’s Zach Hyman left midway through the third period after Maatta pushed him into the end boards. … The Penguins’ home win streak is tied for the third-longest in team history. … Malkin has a point in seven straight home games. … Penguins C Sidney Crosby’s 10-game home point streak ended. … Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz missed Saturday’s game because of illness. Matt Hunwick took Schultz’s spot after missing the previous nine games. … Penguins F Patric Hornqvist missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury. … Penguins F Jake Guentzel played in his 100th NHL game.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: At Detroit on Sunday.Penguins: At Columbus on Sunday to open a three-game road trip. A team from the West has not won the Stanley Cup the previous three seasons, the conference’s longest drought in the 13-year salary cap era.Before the Washington Capitals won it last year after Pittsburgh claimed consecutive championships, the West was usually the best, winning seven of 10 titles. Four teams seem to have the best shot to prevent it from being a four-year run without a Stanley Cup. And perhaps a few more have an outside chance.“The West is like loaded right now,” Nashville Predators general manager David Poile said. “It feels like anybody could not only make the playoffs, there’s going to be some unbelievable top teams that don’t make the playoffs.”Winnipeg is stacked with talent from up front to the back and in net. And, the Jets are no longer off the radar after advancing to the conference finals for the first time. Nashville , which was eliminated by Winnipeg in the second round Michael Del Zotto Jersey , won the Presidents’ Trophy with an NHL-high 117 points last season and has kept its strong and balanced team together.The Vegas Golden Knights tried to improve their chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Final in their second season by signing free agent center Paul Stastny and acquiring forward Max Pacioretty. The San Jose Sharks made the boldest move, trading for two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson just before the puck dropped for training camp.Poile said the talent-filled conference should be fun for players and fans, but not so much for coaches and the front office.“It’s probably going to be nerve-wracking for us,” Poile said. “If you’re going to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and I think the West certainly has more than its share of top teams.”WINNIPEGThe Jets, who trailed only Nashville in points last season, have an elite team after years of patiently drafting and developing players. Winnipeg has so much young talent, including 20-year-old wing Patrik Laine, the time to win is now because it is going to be challenging next season to keep the team together and under the cap.“Bring it on,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. “There’s excitement. That’s what this all about.”NASHVILLEThe Predators have one of the world’s best goaltender Sam Gagner Jersey , reigning Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne. He may have the surrounding cast of hungry, experienced talented players to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in its 20 years after leading the league in points.“Obviously things didn’t end up the way we wanted, but winning the regular season doesn’t give you much,” Rinne said.VEGASThe Golden Knights signed three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury to a three-year, $21 million extension over the summer. They can lean on his experience of helping Pittsburgh go from losing the Stanley Cup in 2008 to winning it the next year. Adding the leadership of Pacioretty and Stastny after losing James Neal was a smart move.SAN JOSEThe Sharks’ shot to win it all for the first time in their 27-season history increased the moment they acquired Karlsson, one of the elite players in the NHL.“That trade makes this team look a little bit more dangerous,” captain Joe Pavelski said, entering his 13th year with the franchise. “And, a little bit more real.” LOS ANGELES The Kings, who hoisted the Cup in 2012 and 2014, tried to pry open their window to win by bolstering their offense by signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The 35-year-old winger is back in the NHL for the first time since 2013. Los Angeles should be able to compete every night with two-way forward Anze Kopitar Womens Devante Smith-Pelly Jersey , the reigning Selke Trophy winner, and standout goalie Jonathan Quick. ST. LOUIS The Blues missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2011, but they made a series of moves to give some help to forwards Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko along with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis acquired center Ryan O’Reilly in a big deal with Buffalo, signed center Tyler Bozak and winger David Perron, who is back with the Blues for his third stint.EDMONTON Connor McDavid should give the Oilers an opportunity to win any game. The 21-year-old center, though, can’t do it alone as last year proved when the team missed the playoffs despite his career-high 108 points. Edmonton needs winger Milan Lucic and goalie Cam Talbot both to bounce back from lackluster seasons.
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