Before this one started, the Leafs held an incredibly emotional pre-game ceremony. The ceremony honored the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame class but let’s be honest here; it was a homecoming for Leafs legend Borje Salming. Salming was in town for the first time since being diagnosed with ALS. Since being diagnosed with the disease, he has unfortunately lost his ability to speak. When Salming was introduced, he received an amazing standing ovation that was well deserved. The part that absolutely crushed me, however, was another Leafs legend, Darryl Sittler, who had to help Salming raise his arm to acknowledge the crowd. After Sittler assisted Salming, he cried his heart out as he was overcome with emotion from the moment. The camera then panned to William Nylander on the Leafs bench, who was also very teary-eyed.
The first three minutes of this game were a lot of back and forth, but not many chances were generated for either side. 3:59 into this one, Evgeni Malkin was called for high-sticking Denis Malgin, giving the Leafs the game’s first power play. The top unit stayed out for the entire 2 minutes and put on an absolute clinic, but they could not solve Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith. About halfway through the opening frame, Matthews was busting through the neutral zone, and as he gained the Penguins blue line, he was obviously tripped by Sidney Crosby. However, there was no call on the play. Leafs goaltender Erik Källgren went post to post to make an outstanding save on Marcus Pettersson, who Crosby found alone in the slot. Former Penguin Zach Aston-Reese opens the scoring in this one as he jumps all over a rebound from a shot from Denis Malgin. The goal was Aston Reese’s second goal of the year. Assists on the goal went to Denis Malgin and David Kampf. That trio has been fantastic from the second they were put together by Sheldon Keefe.
The Leafs would be awarded their second power play of the game 16:50 into the period as Evgeni Malkin headed to the box for the second time in the period. Unfortunately, it was a very uneventful man advantage for the blue and white. The second unit would get a chance in the dying seconds but to no avail. The Penguins would answer back with just 35 seconds remaining in the period as Evgeni Malkin corralled a loose puck off of a block from TJ Brodie and made absolutely no mistake, ripping it home for his sixth goal of the year. Rickard Rakell and Chad Ruhwedel with the assists on the goal. Shots on goal after 20 minutes were 10-7 in favor of the Leafs. TOI leader for the blue and white was Mitch Marner with 7:00.
The Penguins wasted no time picking up right where they left off at the end of the first period. After a broken play that led to a chance for Marner that he was unable to capitalize on, the Penguins went the other way and took the lead. Evgeni Malkin found a wide-open Jason Zucker, who let a one-timer fly from the hash marks beating Källgren and giving the Pens a 2-1 lead. The goal was Zucker’s 4th of the year. Evgeni Malkin and Marcus Pettersson assist on the goal. Shortly after the Pens go-ahead goal, the Leafs had a response shift from their best line of the night, Aston-Reese – Kampf – Malgin, they spent their shift in the offensive zone, and Malgin had a wide-open net to shoot at, but the puck bounced over his stick. The Tavares/Nylander combo came out and generated a couple of fantastic chances but were unable to solve DeSmith as well.
7:12 into the period John Tavares was called for hooking, giving the Penguins their first power play of the night. Just seconds before the Tavares minor, he was hooked, but there was no call on the play. The blue and white did a fantastic job killing off the minor, keeping it a 2-1 game. Michael Bunting, who got a shift back on the top line, came flying into the Penguins zone, where he was tripped by Penguins veteran defenceman Kris Letang giving the Leafs their third power play of the game. A fantastic outlet pass from Mitch Marner sprung William Nylander in all alone, who paid tribute to Jason Spezza, who faked the shot, took it wide around DeSmith, and had a wide-open net to shoot at, but he nailed the inside of the post. Literally seconds after that glorious chance, Nylander was given a great pass for the opportunity to fire a one-timer. This time, he made no mistake, ripping home his sixth goal of the year and tying this game 2-2. Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly with the assists on the power play goal. The period would close with the score tied 2-2 after 2. Shots on goal in the middle frame were 16-8 in favor of the blue and white, which makes sense as they controlled the majority of the play in that period. Shots overall after 40 minutes were 26-15 in favor of the Leafs. TOI leader after two periods was Mitch Marner with 16:24.
The Penguins break the 2-2 just 1:56 into the 3rd period on Brock McGinn’s third goal of the year. The goal came off of a terrible turnover in the neutral zone from Denis Malgin. In saying that, that was absolutely a shot that Källgren had to stop. Danton Heinen with the lone assist on the goal. The Penguins had three goals on 18 shots at that point of the game, subpar goaltending for the Leafs, to say the least. Kris Letang decked William Nylander from behind at the side of the Pens net, but there was no call on the play. For the majority of this period, there was a whole lot of nothing happening for either team. Jake Guentzel seals the deal for the Penguins with an empty netter to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead in the dying seconds. The goal was Guentzel’s eighth of the year; the only assist on the goal went to Pens captain Sidney Crosby. Shots on goal in the final frame were 7-4 in favor of the Penguins; simply not good enough from the Leafs, especially in a period where you were trailing for the majority of it. Shots overall were 30-23 overall in favor of the Leafs. TOI leader in this one for the blue and white was Mitch Marner with 24:28.
Tonight’s Three Stars
1. Evgeni Malkin: 1 Goal, 1 Assist 4PIM
2. Jason Zucker: 1 Goal
3. William Nylander: 1 Goal
However, the Leafs do not have time to fixate on this loss as they have a quick turnaround yet again. They are back in action again tomorrow night as they host the Vancouver Canucks. This is the Leafs second back-to-back in the last week.
For more Leafs news and in-game tweets, follow me on Twitter @mikethefanatic! Also, be sure to check out The Leafs Late Night Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts!
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