The Toronto Maple Leafs lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since the end of October with a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins started with control over the Leafs in the opening two minutes with both the Auston Matthews and John Tavares lines spending the majority of their first shift in the defensive zone. The fourth line tipped the scale and the Leafs began spending more time at the other end of the ice and their quickness to pucks allowed them to reload on shots from the perimeter and fight for rebounds. A holding penalty on Matthew Knies stopped that momentum which Rickard Rakell scored on, however, the top line tied it up with Mitch Marner scoring his tenth. Bryan Rust restored the lead for Pittsburgh after another weird bounce created a huge rebound. Score aside, the Leafs dominated that first period.
The power play paid off for the Leafs with William Nylander one-timing his 17th of the year past Tristan Jarry. The penalty kill got its time to shine as well. Both penalties were killed off in the second but the Leafs’ five-on-five play started to fall with Pittsburgh making Joseph Woll’s life difficult in the crease.
The Leafs fell back another gear in the third as Pittsburgh put up 16 shots. Special teams wound up deciding the night with Michael Bunting making it 3-2 five minutes in on the power play. The Leafs’ best chances either missed the net or hit the post and Jarry stopped all 11 shots faced. A late power play and an empty net gave the Leafs the opportunity to tie it on a six-on-four, but Blake Lizotte and Kris Letang capitalized on it themselves.
In the second half of a back-to-back, it wasn’t surprising to see the course of the game fall out of the Leafs’ grasp as the night went on. That being said, Pittsburgh was in the same boat. Luck wasn’t on the Leafs’ side and they couldn’t capitalize on more chances when it was. The team’s success in the faceoff dot didn’t help either. No centre finished above 40 percent with Fraser Minten being the lowest at 25 percent. The hockey gods weren’t with them and the big names on the roster were all a minus-2. The Leafs earn an overall grade of B-.
Player reports
Mitch Marner: B
The Net-front battle led to a well-earned goal. He took the eyes away and managed to spin and make contact with the puck after getting hit by Marcus Pettersson.
MITCH MARNER 🚨
Twist and tuck pic.twitter.com/Qrjz4fn7rD
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 8, 2024
Marner added another assist on Nylander’s one-timer, adding another multi-point game to his season total.
William Nylander: B
Excellent finish on the power play beating Jarry with the one-timer.
WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨
Tic-Tac-One-Timer pic.twitter.com/Fshnlp4y5Y
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 8, 2024
Nylander tried to break away from the Penguins and was only able to fully separate himself once.
Chris Tanev: B
Smart decisions under pressure at five-on-five and the penalty kill, however, he was part of the three-man screen on Woll ahead of Bryan Rust’s goal.
Joseph Woll: B
Traffic and bad bounces bit Woll in this one. He had a number of bodies in front of him on both goals while the second came from a rebound that was difficult to predict. Things got chaotic for Woll in front as Pittsburgh pushed, where he lost his stick or had to snow angel to stop any bobbling pucks from crossing the goal line. Woll wasn’t spectacular, but he made some really clutch saves along the way.
huge glove save by Woll on O’Connor pic.twitter.com/OhaXpwsq8D
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 8, 2024
Philippe Myers: B
I see what coach Craig Berube likes in Myers. His timing on pinches from the point is good and he had a good sequence as the sole defender back on the rush against in the second and taking Drew O’Connor out of the play before he could do anything with the puck.
Matthew Knies: B
Knies kept a lot of plays alive down low. It wasn’t surprising to see him reunited with Matthews and Marner late in the third, but his best scoring chance came from his time with Nylander and Tavares. Unfortunately, he hit the post.
Knies hits the post pic.twitter.com/bcuWzeHRmB
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 8, 2024
John Tavares: B
He had a game-tying goal on his stick as well. Morgan Rielly and Nylander set him up perfectly in the slot but a stick in the way worsened the shot.
Fraser Minten: B
His line had a number of stretches in the offensive zone. Minten himself had four shot attempts with one making its way to Jarry while doing a good job cutting off lanes to stop puck recoveries and continue the cycle.
Auston Matthews: B-
Two secondary assists in the game. Matthews led the team in blocked shots but was part of the three-man screen on Rust’s goal.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: B-
Loaded up on scoring chances from the point and his forwards did a good job getting the puck back to him to keep it going. His turnover in the third gave Sidney Crosby a point-blank shot at Woll.
Max Pacioretty: C+
The veteran got a prime opportunity with Matthews and Marner in his return and continued where he left off using his physicality to win battles and get to pucks first along the wall. He was called on back-to-back roughing calls, the first of which was curious, to say the least.
Pontus Holmberg: C+
His puck protection behind the net helped keep the puck in the zone down low and he drew two penalties.
Simon Benoit: C+
Stood out offensively in the first, including the one-on-one against Jarry that hit the post.
Ryan Reaves: C
Heavy checks on Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson throughout the game. He also got some time with the puck around the net including a one-handed backhand chance in the first.
Steven Lorentz: C
Quick jump off the faceoff to kill time short-handed.
Connor Dewar: C
Dewar only had one hit but he should’ve drawn a call or two with his speed behind the net.
Alex Nylander: C
Didn’t do much to get a string of games in the lineup. He also lost races and battles late in the game.
Morgan Rielly: C-
Wasn’t very noticeable offensively or defensively as he had one shot on one attempt.
Conor Timmins: D
Traffic was a common theme on those first-period goals against. Timmins was late getting back to the net after moving over to the right to challenge Kevin Hayes and didn’t get to Rakell in time for the box out. Rakell put himself in the eyes of Woll and Matt Grzelcyk’s shooting lane for the puck to go in off his leg. Timmins was also late on the shot block on Bunting’s power-play goal, redirecting the pass instead of stopping it completely.
Game score
What’s next for the Leafs?
The Leafs are in New Jersey Tuesday night to take on the Devils at 7:00 p.m. on TSN 4.
(Photo: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
