HIGH FIVE!
Leafs’ speed and skill too much for Penguins as Rielly nets two goals and Andersen earns shutout,
The Penguins' Carl Hagelin trips over the stick of Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen in Saturday’s 5-0 win in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH— The Maple Leafs used their speed, they used their savvy, they used their skill and they got the reward they wanted in a 5-0 win Saturday night over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Two goals from Morgan Rielly — including one on a late thirdperiod power play — as well as singles from John Tavares, Patrick Marleau and Zach Hyman (short-handed) combined for the Toronto offence.
The Leafs ended a two-game losing skid as they looked to get back some of the mojo that seemed missing this week in losses to Calgary and Dallas. The Penguins were a formidable opponent, atop the Metropolitan Division when the day began. But the Leafs were on top of them from the beginning, and used their speed better.
Frederik Andersen stopped all 31 shots for his first shutout of the season. It was the sixth game in a row Andersen has allowed two or fewer goals against.
For the Maple Leafs: The Hyman-Tavares-Mitch Marner line had a terrific first period, highlighted by Tavares’ eighth goal of the season. Tavares tipped a Marner shot after Marner made a nifty move at the blueline, all the while Hyman was bothering Penguins goalie Matt Murray.
Marner was sublimely dangerous all night, eluding Pittsburgh defenders. At one point, he killed off the end of a penalty to Nazem Kadri just by holding on to the puck in the Penguins zone, with five players in black and gold around him, happy it seemed just to contain him.
Three Leafs had two-point nights: Marner and Kasperi Kapanen each had two assists and Tavares also had an assist to go along with his goal.
A game after being a healthy scratch, Igor Ozhiganov took two minor penalties.
For the Penguins: Murray briefly left the game in the second period with an equipment problem, replaced by Casey DeSmith for 3:13, stopping both shots he faced … Riley Sheahan hit the post on a Penguins’ 2-on-1 rush shorthanded late in the second with Toronto up 3-0 … Chad Ruhwedel intercepted a Kasperi Kapanen pass on a third-period Leaf break that could have put the game out of reach.
Scoring first: The Leafs got the first goal of the game for just the fourth time this season. They’re a perfect 4-0-0 when scoring first.
Noteworthy: Marlies callup Trevor Moore wore No. 42 and participated in the pre-game skate but was a healthy scratch, along with Martin Marincin and Justin Holl … A healthy contingent of Leaf fans made the trip to Pittsburgh, letting the refs know if they didn’t like a call against Toronto.
Up next: The Leafs host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena.