Maple Leafs blank Penguins, gain in Atlantic
Andersen makes 24 saves, Muzzin has goal, two assists for Toronto
via NHL.com
Frederik Andersen made 24 saves when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
Jake Muzzin had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs (32-22-8), who lost 5-2 to the Penguins on Tuesday in the first half of a home-and-home. Toronto, which had lost two in a row, moved two points ahead of the Florida Panthers for third in the Atlantic Division. Florida plays at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
“It was great. We responded the way we wanted to,” Andersen said. “Guys played really good. Jake Muzzin especially, I thought he was unbelievable today. We just stuck with our game for the most part. It was a complete effort and a great response from everyone. That’s what we want to be like.”
Matt Murray made 26 saves for the Penguins (37-16-6), who had won three straight. Pittsburgh is tied with the Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan Division.
“I don’t think we came into this game with a big head or thinking we were better than we are,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “I don’t think that was the case. For the most part, we’re a hard-working team and come with the right mentality every night. Tonight we had a good first period but then we give up a goal, take a 5-on-3. Ideally we stop the damage at that and give ourselves a chance to get back in, but it didn’t happen.”
They said it
“They’re a really good team in the offensive zone, and unfortunately we didn’t play enough in their zone and wear them down down there. A lot of times early in shifts they had a lot of energy to work and move and do what they do in the offensive zone. Our forecheck and our ability to win battles to keep the puck in their end wasn’t good, and because of that we spent a lot of the game in our end.” — Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
“[We need to] come with urgency I think, be [angry] when we get here. We want to play for every point. It’s important. We learned a lot from that previous game in Pittsburgh, and we showed today that we have the personnel and the right skill sets. When we play like this, we can compete with anyone.” — Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen
Need to know
Maple Leafs forward Denis Malgin played 15:20 and was plus-1 in his Toronto debut after being traded from the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. … Penguins forward Dominik Kahun left at 14:14 of the third after blocking Malgin’s shot with his left foot. Sullivan had no update on him. … Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang’s point streak ended at six games.
What’s next
Penguins: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, CBC, SN360, SNO, SNW, SNP, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
First star Freddie ⭐️ #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/inzkF4gPbB
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 21, 2020
Total team effort.
Here are tonight's @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers!#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/BhNSZrPMmy
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 21, 2020