TORONTO _ Two teams took the ice Saturday in Toronto, one with nothing to play for, another oozing with desperation.
In recent years, the Penguins were typically the more desperate team, while the Maple Leafs were mere hours away from honing their golf games.
Not so this time.
The Maple Leafs dominated the game for the first two periods and scored twice in the final six minutes to leave Air Canada Centre with a 5-3 victory and their first playoff berth since 2012-13, their second in the past 12 years.
Connor Brown scored the game-winner on a deflection at 17:12 after former Penguin Kasperi Kapanen picked up his first NHL goal at 14:30 courtesy of a no-look pass from Matt Hunwick.
Auston Matthews tacked on an empty-netter for his 40th of the season with 3.4 seconds to go.
Jake Guentzel gave the Penguins some hope with a goal at 6:51 of the third _ the puck glanced off Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev's left skate _ but it wasn't enough.
Guentzel has scored in five consecutive games.
The Penguins missed out on a chance to reach 20 road wins for a 10th consecutive season, something they'll now try to do Sunday in New York.
Sidney Crosby scored his 44th goal of the season, strengthening his hold on the Rocket Richard Trophy, but he was robbed by Curtis McElhinney from the right post in the final period.
Marc-Andre Fleury started in goal for the Penguins but dropped to 7-1-2 in his last 10 decisions at Toronto, 12-4-2 in his last 18 decisions overall against the Leafs. He allowed four goals on 29 shots.
Stuck in a 1-for-24 goal funk coming into Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre, Phil Kessel scored in the first period, his first tally in 11 games.
Loose puck. Kessel pounced on it and whipped a shot past goaltender Frederick Andersen from 33 feet at 6:11.
It's the type of play Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has been trying to coax out of Kessel for weeks: Don't think, just shoot.
As the goal reached the back of the net, Kessel was sporting an ear-to-ear grin. It continued as he skated to the bench, his first point against his old team in the books.
James van Riemsdyk tied it for the Maple Leafs only 29 seconds later _ in the middle of the announcement for Kessel's goal _ with some ridiculous eye-hand coordination.
He batted a puck out of the air near the blue line, tracked it, maneuvered around Justin Schultz and beat Fleury from the slot.
Toronto really began to tilt the ice midway through the first period. William Nylander rang a shot off the post. Van Riemsdyk's wraparound attempt was a couple inches from sneaking past Fleury.
Only when the Leafs got a power play did their momentum stall. With Josh Archibald off for tripping at 16:51, the Leafs mustered next to nothing, at times keeping the puck in their own zone for long stretches.
The Penguins played this one with a diluted lineup. Forwards Nick Bonino, Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist got the night off. Ditto for defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Chad Ruhwedel. Goaltender Tristan Jarry backed up Fleury.
The Penguins accumulated just four shots in the first period, tied for the fewest in the opening 20 minutes this season. Furthermore, Toronto held a 22-7 edge in five-on-five shot attempts during the first 20 minutes.
Not much changed during the early parts of the second period. At the 6:41 mark, the Penguins had ran their total to just five shots on goal.
Earlier, at 1:02 of the second, Fleury went behind his net and misplayed a puck. It led to a scoring chance for Leafs rookie Auston Matthews, but Fleury was able to scramble back in enough time to make the save.
Tom Sestito bumped into Leafs goaltender Frederick Anderson at 2:01, making contact with his head and requiring Anderson to leave the ice with some assistance.
Tyler Bozak cashed in with a power-play goal at 3:30, one-timing a beautiful shot pass from William Nylander.
Crosby's power-play goal tied the score at 2 at 7:55, and it's one he's practiced often. Puck goes in the corner. Guentzel, who extended his own scoring streak to five games (four goals, seven points), set up Crosby perfectly at the inner-edge of the left circle.
Through two periods, though, the Maple Leafs controlled much of the play and held a 47-29 advantage in attempted shots.
