TFC triumph inspirational in win over Pens
PITTSBURGH— One superstar down, one to go.
Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs got the better of Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, holding on for a 4-3 win, and will finish a star-studded weekend Sunday when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit the Air Canada Centre.
“We’re looking to keep it rolling, keep getting some wins,” said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, adding the team
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might have drawn some inspiration from watching Toronto FC win the MLS Cup prior to puck drop at PPG Arena. “They won, good for them. When a team in the organizational family wins, it’s always good.”
As much as the game was billed as Matthews vs. Crosby — and the two went head-to-head against each other a lot — it was Tyler Bozak’s line that did most of the offensive damage.
Bozak, with two goals and an assist, and Marner, with three helpers, and James van Riemsdyk, with a goal and an assist, combined for their biggest night of the season. Bozak and Marner had threepoint nights for the first time this season. Marner had gone seven games without a point, Bozak four.
“Bozak, real good for him. Things haven’t gone so well for him this year,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
“Confidence is always hard. He’ll walk out of here feeling real good. Competed real hard.”
Connor Brown had the other Leaf marker in a three-goal first period as they finally got off to the quick start they’d been shooting for.
Crosby scored with 2:48 remaining to lead a Penguins comeback. But the Leafs held on for a win that might have turned into a loss this time last year.
“We showed signs of being a young team tonight. Instead of keeping your foot on the gas and getting the next one, we got on our heels and let them take (the game) to us a little bit,” said Babcock. “But that’s all part of learning as you become a good team.”
Frederik Andersen faced 36 shots, while Toronto managed 16 on Tristan Jarry — pulled in favour of Casey DeSmith, who faced nine. Curtis McElhinney will start for the Leafs against Edmonton.
The game pitted the up-and-coming Leafs against the defending champions.
“They have experience, they have the rings, they have the pedigree,” Babcock said of the Penguins. “We’re trying to become what they’ve been. They don’t look to me like a team that wants to give it away any time soon.”
The Penguins — rolling out four lines with speed — set the template for success that the Leafs and others are trying to emulate.
“What you do is, you watch everybody and see what works,” said Babcock. “That’s life. Everyone is always taking from one another. In saying that, you’ve either got to come up with new things, or you’ve got to be a great imitator or you never get to win.
“It’s up to us to do it our own way, but we have to get better.”
In Matthews, Babcock believes he has a Crosby-type player with many of the same attributes.
Regarding Crosby, the coach said he’s impressed with “his drive train, his competitiveness . . . Sid has that in spades.”
Remember, Babcock coached Crosby three times: twice to gold in the Olympics, and once to gold at the World Cup of Hockey. He suggested there was a similarity with Matthews.
As for Matthews, according to Babcock: “He’s starting. The other guy has already got rings, and Cups and championships, and (Matthews) has an elite drive train, trying to work hard, but he’s a kid trying to get going in the league.”
During one of the first-period TV timeouts, the crowd at PPG Paints Arena gave Leaf defenceman Ron Hainsey a warm round of applause and a video tribute for his time as a Penguin and winning the Stanley Cup.
“That was very nice,” said Hainsey. “A special place, and a special organization.”