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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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PITTSBURGH – The Toronto Maple Leafs used an excellent first period to withstand a late surge from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, as they held on for a 4-3 victory over their hosts. It was the Leafs second straight win, and their fourth in the last five games. Toronto now sits at 19-10-1 on the season.

 

Takeaways

First period fire

The Leafs needed less than two minutes of playing time to get the Penguins on their heels in Saturday’s matchup. Connor Brown scored on Toronto’s first shot, coming just 1:23 into the game. The Leafs kept the pressure on and 19 seconds later, James van Riemsdyk pocketed his team-leading 14th goal of the season to put Pittsburgh in a 2-0 hole on their third shot of the game after only 1:42 had elapsed. By the end of the frame, which Toronto all but dominated save for a lull after their initial scoring surge, they were outshooting Pittsburgh 16-14 and had successfully killed off two penalties.

Toronto boasted 56 per cent possession in that frame, but saw that drop to 36 per cent in the second when the Penguins came back firing. A give-and-go play finished off by Riley Sheahan (a former draft pick by Mike Babcock and the Detroit Red Wings in 2010) got Pittsburgh on the board, aided by Morgan Rielly being taken out of the play along the boards by an uncalled hold. And then Toronto’s penalty troubles finally caught up to them when Evgeni Malkin fired home a power play score on the Pens’ fourth chance with a man advantage. Malkin now has 55 points in 33 career games against the Leafs, more than any other non-divisional opponent.

The third period belonged mostly to the Penguins, who spent minutes at a time pressuring the Leafs in their zone with impressive forechecking. It paid off when the game clock wound down to 2:48 remaining and the Leafs left Frederik Andersen out to dry with three Penguins below the hashmarks, allowing Sidney Crosby scored on a gaping net. Andersen was fantastic for the Leafs once again between the pipes, turning aside 33 of 36 shots. It hasn’t often been the case for Toronto, but by the final whistle, it was their strong opening frame that ultimately paved the way to victory – while the Leafs matched that initial intensity periodically over the course of the final 40 minutes, it was never sustained at the same level.

Finding their footing

Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner have been two of the Leafs’ most maligned players this season for their low production totals offensively. They’ve played much of the year together, whether on the third line or the fourth, and both have lamented their seemingly poor puck luck to account for some of those offensive struggles while maintaining they’ve otherwise felt good and remained confident. Saturday ended up among their best performances of the season. Bozak was mired in a 13-game goal drought at puck drop, but he busted that slump less than 13 minutes into the first period, with an assist from Marner. Bozak scored again in the second period, just 22 seconds after Malkin’s goal, which was also assisted by Marner. By the end of the night, Marner had tallied three assists for the fourth time in his career and the first time since his rookie campaign.

He robbed himself of a goal in the third period though, when Bozak dished him a great pass he could have put past Casey DeSmith himself, but instead he flipped it immediately to van Riemsdyk, who had a worse angle and couldn’t get it past the goalie. Their unit led the way for Leafs in possession at 63 per cent and produced eight shots on goal.

Hainsey’s (most recent) homecoming

When you’ve played for seven NHL teams in your career like Ron Hainsey has, lining up across from familiar faces is all but guaranteed. Saturday was the fourth time in his first 30 games this season that Hainsey has played a former club, but Pittsburgh is a little different. Hainsey won his first Stanley Cup with the team last June, and returned not only to skate opposite his old team but also pick up that coveted Cup ring. Hainsey was treated to an in-arena video tribute welcoming him back and he wasted no time making his presence felt on the ice. The veteran tallied his 11th assist of the season on Brown’s game-opening goal, moving him into a tie with William Nylander for the most 5-on-5 assists this season. Hainsey was on the ice against his former teammate Crosby for much of the game and played the centre physically along the boards to neutralize his opportunities through much of the first two periods. As is the case every night, Hainsey was the Leafs’ best penalty killer and had logged more than five minutes shorthanded after 40 minutes; he paces the entire league in penalty kill time by more than 12 minutes.

Time for a change?

Auston Matthews went 107 games to open his career with at least one shot on net. In his last five games he’s registered zero shots twice, and is now in a three-game point drought. Matthews has scored only one goal in his last ten contests and his possession total on a line with Zach Hyman and Connor Brown on Saturday was a lowly 22 per cent. Meanwhile, his former linemate Nylander has been relegated to the fourth line where he played a single shift in the third period on Saturday and played just 8:39, the lowest total of his career.

Babcock attributed that to the Penguins rolling fewer lines and him wanting to continue matching up with them, but it leaves one of the Leafs most potent offensive weapons sitting on the bench instead of involved in the action. With a respected scoring threat like Nylander on his right wing, Matthews has more time and space with the puck than he does between Hyman and Brown, who play a similar forechecking-heavy style. Brown has legitimate scoring prowess as well, but doesn’t seem to create the same room on that line as Nylander.  As long as the Leafs keep winning, Babcock isn’t likely to alter his offensive groups, but it’s a troubling trend to now see Matthews joining Nylander and Marner as a second year having difficulty lighting the lamp.

Next game

The Leafs make a quick pit stop at home to take on the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.