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Despite a terrific performance from Mikhail Grabovski on his 28th birthday, the Pittsburgh Penguins would not be denied on Tuesday, battling back from a three-goal deficit to earn a 5-4 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pittsburgh's win over Toronto extended their winning streak to eight games, while the loss is the Leafs' first in three games. Grabovski was a man on a mission...

Evgeni Malkin tied it with 6 seconds left in regulation and then scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night. Malkin's 27th goal capped a furious third-period rally by the Penguins, who trailed by three with 13 minutes to play. The NHL's leading scorer later flipped a wrist shot past Jonas Gustavsson in the second round of the shootout to extend Pittsburgh's winning streak to eight games. The Maple Leafs appeared to be in complete control after Tyler Bozak and Clarke MacArthur scored 19 seconds apart in the third period to give Toronto a 4-1 lead. Pittsburgh put together a furious rally that Malkin finished when James Neal's slap shot caromed off his shoulder and into the net.

With the NHL trade deadline just four weeks away, plenty of rumors have surfaced, including the likes of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jeff Carter joining the Toronto Maple Leafs. While no Maple Leaf players have been mentioned as possible candidates to join the Blue Jackets, the names of Clarke MacArthur, Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski have been front in centre in just about every rumor involving the Maple Leafs. So, will Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke attempt to land Carter? At first glance, Carter, who stands 6’3” and weighs in at just under 200 pounds, has the size that Burke so desperately needs down the middle. That said, carter is hardly known as a physical player, which is what Burke needs most. A former Philadelphia Flyers first round draft choice (11th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Carter is just 27 years of age. Through 491 career NHL games, carter has posted a total of 191 goals and 169 assists for a total of 360 points (0.73 points per game),...

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John Michael-Liles, who signed a four year $15.5 million contract before the NHL All-Star break, has come out and denied that he is not suffering from concussion like symptoms, but from neck problems. Liles was placed on IR on December 27th and has not played since then. Via Jonas Siegel of TSN; “Everybody wants to call it a concussion,” he exclaimed to TSN.ca. “Everybody says ‘Oh, if you have whiplash you have a concussion’ … I wasn’t sitting there going ‘Oh man I feel so foggy’ or anything like that, it just felt like I was just completely locked up and it was cutting off my focus and things like that. “It all seemed like it was always neck-related and it almost felt like it was cutting off the flow to my brain sometimes just because it was so stiff.” How does Liles know he does not have a concussion? Well unlike Colby Armstrong, Liles has not experienced any evident symptoms of having a concussion. The only symptom that Liles could pick out is that...

After everyone but Joffrey Lupul, Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf got a week's rest, the Maple Leafs begin their 33 game stretch drive towards a possible playoff berth with a home-and-home match against the Penguins tonight at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Toronto has won three of their last four games and is tied with Florida and New Jersey for the last two playoff spots in the Eastern...

TONIGHT’S GAME WILL BE BROADCAST ON ROOT SPORTS – PITTSBURGH and TSN FACE-OFF IS SET FOR 7:00 PM (EST) CONSOL DOORS OPEN AT 5:45 PM (EST) AHL CALL-UP the Penguins announced earlier today that they recalled forward Colin McDonald from WBS CROSBY yesterday, Crosby skated for the first time since January 13th (following his December 5th injury) with fellow injured team-mates Simon Despres and Jordan Staal; all three skated again today (and even though the media would portray the recent report of a fracture in his neck as a setback / negative, it would seem – to me- that he is progressing and that his status is better than it has been / looking positive) LINE COMBINATIONS (projected from this morning’s practice) FORWARDS: Kunitz-Malkin-Neal Dupuis-Jeffrey-Kennedy Sullivan-Park-Cooke (Granato)-Vitale-Adams DEFENSEMEN: Letang-Orpik Martin-Michalek Lovejoy-Niskanen-Engelland PENGUINS PET SUPPLY COLLECTION (presented by Walgreens) the Penguins will be taking a coll...

The first half has come and gone. All-Star weekend is over. It’s time to gaze into the crystal ball and look at what will happen in the upcoming second half. Here are nine bold predictions for the rest of the season…- Florida and Toronto will end playoff droughtsFlorida and Toronto are the only two teams to not participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the lockout. Kevin Dineen’s Panthers have dropped off a bit since a fast start, but that hasn’t killed the optimism in Sunrise. The fact that they are tied for the Southeast Division lead on Jan. 31 should be enough motivation to turn the tides and hunt down the team’s first playoff berth since the Pavel Bure Era (2000).Meanwhile, Toronto is in the midst of the playoff picture as the second half commences. The Maple Leafs are usually having to claw their way back into the hunt by late February or March – not this year. Led by Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul, this Leafs team is ready to give the fans their first ...