Pittsburgh Penguins Lose In Shootout To Maple Leafs 3-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at CONSOL Energy Center looking to continue building on the changes implemented by new head coach Mike Sullivan.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Maple Leafs tonight looking to continue building on the systems implemented by their new coach. Unfortunately, they got off on the wrong foot from early on in the contest.

After Brian Dumoulin couldn’t successfully clear the puck or connect with Conor Sheary, the turnover allowed the Leafs to cycle the puck to the point where Dion Phaneuf beat a screened Matt Murray. Leafs 1-0.

The Pens struck back on the power play less than two minutes later. Sidney Crosby laid a beauty right on the stick of Chris Kunitz who tapped it home. 1-1 at the end of the first period.

The second began poorly for the Penguins as well, with James van Riemsdyk‘s shot from distance being deflected off of Jake Gardiner‘s glove and into the Penguins net. 2-1 Maple Leafs.

Just the like the first the team found a quick answer, with Crosby firing a laser past Jonathan Bernier to tie the game at 2-2. The game remained tied for the rest of the duration of regulation as well as the 3-on-3 overtime period thanks to solid goaltending in both nets.

The late chances were aplenty, but both Murray and Bernier continued to close the door on the opposition.

In the shootout, David Perron scored for the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Peter Holland and P.A. Parenteau scored for the Leafs to clinch the victory.

Maples Leafs win 3-2.

Player Performance

Chris Kunitz connecting on the end of that pass by Sidney Crosby was a wonderful sight. It’s too much to hope they can rekindle the old magic together, but even a portion of that would be welcome at this point.

It’s true. Matt Murray did fail in the shootout, but if he hadn’t stood on his head for the majority of the last forty minutes of this hockey game the Pittsburgh Penguins may well have been routed. The kid is simply terrific and in a few years I can’t wait to see him play in an NHL sweater full-time – whether it’s with the Pens or on another team that the Pens fleece for roster upgrades.

Phil Kessel dug all night to get a goal against his former team, but no dice. 6 shots on goal and a lot of hustle won’t show up in the Twitter conversation tomorrow, but the effort was appreciated.

Kevin Porter came so close to hitting pay dirt on two occasions tonight. Would’ve been nice to see him score his first goal as a Penguin, but he wouldn’t be a Pens player if he could find the net in 2015.

Defenseman Kris Letang comes back from kinda, sorta, maybe concussion symptoms a few days ago…and immediately logs 27:00 of ice time. The Pittsburgh Penguins need him out there, but that seems a little excessive for the first time out after saying he “had headaches” post collision with Jarret Stoll.

Pittsburgh Penguins Player of the Game

More from Pens Labyrinth

• Welcome To The Burgh: Lars Eller
• Penguins Waddle Toward The Season
• Farewell Carl Hagelin
• Penguins Line-up Breakdown vs Stanley Cup Champs Vegas
• Ryan Graves Solid Signing For The Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby post Christmas break looks like Sidney Crosby of the past decade. Fast, tenacious, and indefatigable. Both the assist on the Kunitz goal and his own snipe were absolutely filthy, and he is now a point per game player under Mike Sullivan. If he can keep it up, the Penguins may yet reach respectability in the 2015-16 season.

The Big Picture

No matter how you frame the effort, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost on home ice to a Toronto Maple Leafs team that sits three points behind the Pens already paltry 38 points.

The power play finally showed signs of being the explosive keg of talent that it rightfully should have been from day one, however that excitement was tempered by the fact that Matt Murray had to make several all-world saves on shorthanded breakaway chances just to keep the Penguins in the game.

Next: Pens Schedule Doesn't Get Any Easier

The Pens unloaded 41 shots on Jonathan Bernier yet scored just two goals. The same Bernier who has an .889 save percentage on the year and has been looked upon as the bottom of the barrel in the NHL goalie department in 2015-16.

Such is life in Pittsburgh.

The Pens take on the Red Wings tomorrow night at 6:00 PM EST.