TORONTO _ The Penguins could see this coming.
After thumping the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Pittsburgh anticipated a redemption-hungry home team would punch back in the second half of the home-and-home series. If nothing else, there was no way the game would be as easy as Tuesday, when the third period was essentially a victory lap more than an actual game.
"I would expect them to be a motivated group," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Thursday morning. "Points are important always, but especially this time of year. Playing a team a couple times in a row like this, you expect the intensity and the emotion to be high."
Well, the captain was right, even if the Penguins probably wish he wasn't.
During a lopsided 4-0 Pittsburgh loss, Toronto scored three goals in the span of less than eight minutes in the second period. Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen, who made his first career All-Star appearance, made 24 saves to blank the Penguins.
The Penguins entered the night sitting in first place in the Metropolitan Division, just one point ahead of the Washington Capitals. The loss drops Pittsburgh to 37-16-6.
During the first two meetings between these two teams, the Penguins out-scored Toronto by a combined margin of 11-3 in a pair of routs. However, from the first period, the game began to take on a different look and feel than the first two matchups.
After a scoreless first period, the Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead at 7:45 in the second period. Toronto's Jake Muzzin ripped a shot from the point. Denis Malgin, who was acquired from the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, provided the screen in front, as the puck sunk past Penguins goalie Matt Murray.
Moment later, the Penguins were forced to play 5-on-3 with Marcus Pettersson and Brandon Tanev in the box. It became a critical juncture of the game. The ice was beginning to tilt heavily toward the home team _ and it only continued in that direction. Off a faceoff win, William Nylander found himself all alone in the left circle. Murray got a piece of the shot, but not enough to keep it from trickling into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later, Alexander Kerfoot sprung Kasperi Kapanen on a breakaway. He didn't miss, beating Murray high on his blocker side.
Two nights ago, the Penguins were coasting through the second period with a 5-0 lead. Now, just like that, they found themselves with the shoe on the other foot, trailing the same opponent by three goals.
The Maple Leafs continued to pile on in the third period. Zach Hyman battled in front of the Penguins' net for position. He batted a shot out of the air and then cleaned up the rebound to give Toronto a 4-0 lead, effectively sealing the win.
Entering Thursday, Murray had played his best hockey of the season since the New Year. He began the night with a 6-1-1 record in 2020, a .929 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average.
None of the first three goals were necessarily egregious mistakes. And one could argue he had almost no chance on the power-play goal and the breakaway. Nonetheless, Murray dropped his second start since the New Year and gave up four goals for the first time since allowing four goals on back-to-back starts on Dec. 21 and 28.
The Penguins won't have to wait long to redeem themselves. As the schedule gets condensed, they will host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon and then turn around and head to Washington for a Sunday matinee against their Metro rival.
