TORONTO -- Canada's largest city, sprawling more and more with each passing year, is home to the NHL's highest-octane offense, with 33 goals through a 6-1 start, an astounding power-play percentage of 47.4 and four of the league's top six scorers in Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and Mitch Marner.
And yet, the hype machine up here is still somehow out-churning all else.
I mean, that machine's actually never taken a break, even through a half-century of abject failure -- no appearances in the Stanley Cup Final since before the NHL doubled in size in 1967 -- to the point that the pedestrian likes of Nikolai Antropov were often deemed worthy of statues. So now that the talent at hand is legit ...
"Yeah, there's a lot you hear about this team, no question," Jack Johnson was telling me in a visiting locker room that's typically more overrun with media than any in the league. "But it's deserved, too."
Offensively, no question. It remains to be seen how much the Maple Leafs can contend with old friend Ron Hainsey on the top defensive pairing.
This much is certain: They'll pose a challenge when these teams meet tonight, 7:08 p.m., at Scotiabank Arena. And from the Penguins' perspective, it just might be the right challenge at the right time.
I asked Bryan Rust after the morning skate if that might be the case:
I asked several other players, too, and that was the consensus.
"Everybody in here knows it's a big challenge," Dominik Simon fairly echoed. "But that can get us ready, get us sharp, get us focused. It's going to be a hard game, but let's see ... let's see how we'll do."
"We're going to need to be at our best," Jamie Oleksiak said. "They've got a lot of great players."
Mike Sullivan, not coincidentally, took the same stance.
"I know it's going to be an exciting game," he said. "Toronto's obviously had a really good start. They've got a good, young team, and it will be a big challenge for us. I think we're trying to establish some traction in our own game, but obviously we believe we've got very capable guys who are very excited to play tonight."
It'll take more than excitement, of course, and Sullivan summarized succinctly what the Penguins will have to do: "We've got to play the game that gives us the best chance to win."
That might come across as hollow, but it means much to this group. Sullivan doesn't alter strategies from year to year, much less game to game. He'll urge the Penguins to be responsible with the puck, first and foremost, but from there to press the attack low in the Toronto zone -- see above about Hainsey on the top pairing -- and to push the puck on net. The Maple Leafs are anything but a box-out team, but that'll still be paramount toward generating more offense than what was witnessed Tuesday night against the Canucks.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
• Maple Leafs: Frederik Andersen, goaltender, (knee) will return and start after missing one game.
THE SKATE
• The Penguins had an optional skate, the Leafs a full one. All of the Penguins participated except for Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Patric Horqnvist, Jake Guentzel, Riley Sheahan, Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin.
• Matt Murray will start for the first time since the season's second game Oct. 6, after which he sustained a concussion in practice. He looked exceptionally spirited in the skate, for whatever that might be worth. Sullivan was asked if he had any concerns about bringing Murray back against this opponent: "Every game is hard. We have so much respect for how good the league is. So, when's the ideal time to bring a guy back into the lineup" I'm not sure there is one. Matt's our No. 1 goalie. He's healthy, he's had a number of good practices. He's prepared for it. And now, we've just got to go out and play well in front of him."
• Among the participants was Juuso Riikola, who'd been held out of practice Wednesday in Cranberry because of what Sullivan called "a maintenance day." I checked with Riikola, and he was adamant he's fine. Also, he came off the rink with the regulars, and Chad Ruhwedel came off late, strongly suggesting Ruhwedel again will be scratched.
• The Doctor's in the house. Paul Coffey, Hall of Fame defenseman and part of the Penguins' inaugural championship team, paid a visit this morning.
THE OTHER SIDE
Matthews' 10-goal start have people here comparing him to the game's elite players, but he stayed customarily cool this morning when asked about the matchup of himself and John Tavares vs. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
"Obviously, Pittsburgh's a team that's been very successful for the last decade or so. They've got some really special players," Matthews said. "It'll be a big challenge."
"You look at the depth on their roster, and the two guys who've led the way for them for 10-plus years now, it's a great challenge," Tavares said. "Not just because of their skill sets, but because of their drive and nature to be the best they can be."
Mike Babcock, always one of the best quotes in the game, answered one Toronto reporter's question about whether or not the local media was being too quick to paint Crosby as "passing the torch" to a younger generation thusly: "Here's what I think: One guy's got two OIympic gold medals and three Stanley Cups."
That was the entirety of the answer. Good for him.
Babcock was Crosby's coach, by the way, for both Olympic golds.
THE COMBINATIONS
The Penguins didn't show combinations at their skate, but the Leafs did. Here are the expected lines/pairings:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Brassard-Hornqvist
Cullen-Sheahan-Sprong
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Oleksiak
Johnson-Riikola
Hyman-Tavares-Marner
Marleau-Matthews-Kapanen
Lindholm-Kadri-Brown
Leivo-Gauthier-Ennis
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Ozhiganov
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff today is at 7:08 p.m. The Penguins will practice tomorrow 1 p.m., at nearby Coca-Cola Coliseum, home of the AHL's Marlies, then fly to Alberta for the Western Canada portion of the trip.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins' morning skate, Toronto, Oct. 18, 2018 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS