TORONTO – The hangover from Sidney Crosby’s milestone night seemed to still be lingering 48 hours later when the Penguins visited the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tuesday’s 5-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers was one of the most emotional games in recent Penguins history. Sidney Crosby scored his 500th goal against his bitter rivals. The home bench emptied in celebration in PPG Paints Arena. Then the Penguins capped it all off by coming from behind to win in overtime.
Concerns about a possible letdown Thursday here at Scotiabank Arena turned out to be well founded. The listless Penguins got pounded by the Leafs, 4-1. It was their first loss since the All-Star break, snapping a four-game winning streak.
Auston Matthews caught Crosby and the Penguins sleeping on the first shift of the night and beat Tristan Jarry on a breakaway just 21 seconds in. The score almost became 2-0 a minute later but Jarry robbed Alex Kerfoot on a 2-on-1.
The Penguins briefly rebounded, but “Soooooup!” chants repeatedly rained down throughout the first period when Jack Campbell, the All-Star goalie for the Leafs, made difficult saves on Jeff Carter, Jake Guentzel then Evan Rodrigues.
After that push fizzled out, the Penguins were unable to find a second wind. And the Leafs piled on like the snowstorm that hit Toronto during the game.
The Leafs fired nine shots from the slot during the first period, per Sportlogiq, too often finding soft spots between the layers of Penguins as they worked the puck low to high in the zone. They peppered Jarry with five more in the second.
But it was transition defense that hurt them most, with four goals off the rush.
Morgan Rielly made it 2-0 with a gorgeous goal early in the second period. With the Leafs on a power play, the smooth-skating defenseman went coast to coast on the Penguins then snapped a shot off the crossbar and in behind Jarry.
That goal came after Rodrigues took his second penalty of the night. Heading into the game, he had not been assessed a single penalty minute all season.
David Kampf scored shorthanded for the Leafs after another giveaway at the blue line by Kris Letang, who hasn’t been at his best the last couple of weeks.
When the Penguins got their own good looks, like when Kasperi Kapanen streaked down the wing when it was still 2-0 in the second, Campbell stood tall.
If you are looking for a silver lining in the loss, how about Evgeni Malkin’s line?
Looking to find a spark in his middle six, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan again shuffled his second and third lines before the game. Jeff Carter got bumped up to skate on Malkin’s right wing. Rodrigues, mired in an 18-game scoring drought, was back in the middle of the third line, between Brock McGinn and Kapanen.
Malkin followed up a Carter rebound to get the Penguins on the board early in the third period. That new line, with Danton Heinen on the left, had a few encouraging sequences as they out-shot and out-chanced their opponents at 5-on-5.
Pittsburgh’s first-liners had a rough night, though, a rarity in recent weeks. Crosby looked off and his linemates and he were out for two of Toronto’s goals.
That included Michael Bunting’s goal less than three minutes after Malkin scored. Flipped a sweet saucer pass by Matthews, Bunting beat a sprawling Jarry.
Jarry was better than the final score suggests. With several quality stops, including stuffing Matthews on a second breakaway, he kept it close for a good while.
Thursday’s game versus the Leafs was the first of several measuring-stick matchups for the Penguins over the next month. Much like the Penguins, the Leafs snapped out of an early-season malaise then powered up their division’s standings.
With Thursday’s victory, the Leafs have now won 12 of their 17 games this calendar year. Matthews has led the way, with at least one point in 25 of his last 27.
The Penguins get back on the ice Sunday, when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. The Metropolitan Division showdown starts at 1 p.m.
