Tristan Jarry pulled as Penguins get humbled by undermanned Maple Leafs
Share this post:
If the Pittsburgh Penguins require any kind of major augmentations to the roster in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, time will tell.
At least that’s what president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas told reporters in Cranberry on Monday.
“Time is going to tell us that and that’s how we’ll dictate that,” Dubas said. “Us continuing to pull our way out of where we’re at right now is on all of us internally. It’s on me, it’s on the coaching staff and it’s on the players.”
The Penguins were not within the gravitational pull of being on their game Saturday as they were decimated by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-0, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
This loss was ugly enough on the surface as it was the team’s most lopsided defeat of the season. The magnitude was amplified by the fact that the Maple Leafs were missing a handful of players – including franchise forward Auston Matthews – due to undisclosed illnesses. Additionally, they were shut out by Martin Jones, a journeyman goaltender who has spent the bulk of the season in the American Hockey League.
With a modest two-game winning streak snapped, their record slipped to 13-13-3.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said to the Canadian Press in Toronto. “We didn’t perform to our expectations, and it’s disappointing. We’re all in this thing together. We have to figure it out.”
Rookie forward Matthew Knies’ seventh goal of the season supplied the Maple Leafs with the contest’s first lead only 117 seconds into regulation.
Taking a pass from linemate Max Domi in the neutral zone, Knies burst into the offensive zone on the right wing, surged past sluggish Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves and attacked the net. Upon arrival, Knies lifted a subtle backhander past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s glove. Domi had the only assist.
Forward Mitch Marner’s 13th goal doubled the lead at 10:15 of the first period.
Domi stripped Penguins forward Jeff Carter of the puck at the center red line and transitioned to offense by dishing a forehand pass to Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Robertson. Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Robertson chipped the puck to the slot for Marner, who was driving to the crease. With Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph scrambling to apply pressure, Marner floated a forehand shot over Jarry’s glove. Assists went to Robertson and Domi.
Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann’s first career goal late at 18:25 of the opening frame put the hosts up by a field goal.
After Penguins forward Radim Zohorna and defenseman Kris Letang fumbled a puck in their own right corner, Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg claimed possession at the right hashmark and rocketed a wrister off the crossbar. Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi bodied Letang off the rebound below the right circle and dished a small-area pass to the near hashmark where McMann ripped a wrister by Jarry’s blocker on the far side. Bertuzzi and Holmberg had assists.
Any notion that the Penguins’ fortunes would be different to open the second period was snuffed out 2:28 into the middle frame via Domi’s second goal.
Corralling a dump-in by Penguins forward Vinnie Hinostroza, Jones lobbed a stretch pass to the far blue line, allowing Marner to gain the offensive zone on the right wing. After a deft backhand pass by Marner, Knies pushed play up the right wing and drew in Letang and Penguins rookie Valtteri Puustinen. With the slot vacated, Knies snapped a backhand pass to a trailing Domi, who motored in on net, lured Jarry out of position and lifted a wrister into a mostly vacant cage. Knies and Marner tallied assists.
That score prompted Sullivan to pull Jarry – potentially for humanitarian concerns – and replace him with backup Alex Nedeljkovic.
The Maple Leafs did not relent and went up 5-0 at 4:25 of the second period after Maple Leafs forward John Tavares collected his ninth goal on a power-play opportunity.
After Tavares beat Penguins rookie forward Jonathan Gruden on a faceoff in the Penguins’ left circle, Marner jabbed the puck above the circle for Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, initiating a give-and-go sequence. Nylander offloaded the puck to defenseman Morgan Reilly above the right circle. Reilly then dished it back to Nylander, now in the slot, who boomed a one-timer. The puck hit a body in front and rattled around before Tavares cleaned up the garbage by pushing a backhander by Nedeljkovic’s left skate. Nylander and Rielly recorded assists.
Maple Leafs forward Noah Gregor’s fifth goal came during a power-play chance at 14:04 of the third period.
Settling a bouncing puck in the left circle of the offensive zone, Gregor spun off a check from Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson and left a drop pass for Bertuzzi. Avoiding a check by forward Sidney Crosby, Bertuzzi dished a backhand pass to the slot for Gregor, who lifted a wrister by Nedeljkovic’s glove. Bertuzzi and defenseman Conor Timmins tallied assists.
Nylander capped off the rout at 14:19 of the third period with his 15th goal.
Off a brilliant stretch pass from his own left corner by Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe, Bertuzzi gained the offensive zone on the left wing and generated a two-on-one rush with Nylander against Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. With Karlsson making an awkward attempt to prevent a pass, Bertuzzi slipped the puck to the far side of the crease where Nylander tapped in an easy forehand shot. Bertuzzi and McCabe had assists.
Jarry’s record tumbled to 9-11-2 after he stopped 10 of 14 shots. Nedeljkovic made 17 saves on 20 shots.
Jones recorded his 29th career shutout by making 38 saves.
“They are a high-volume shot team,” Jones said to the Canadian Press. “They throw a lot of pucks on net. But there weren’t a lot of dangerous situations.”
Notes:
• Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludvig fought Knies at 4:57 of the first period in response to a hit Ludvig placed on Domi moments earlier.
• The Penguins recorded a season-worst 33 penalty minutes. Their previous high-water mark for penalty minutes was 13, recorded in a 4-0 road win against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 13 and a 6-3 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings Oct. 18.
• Penguins defensemen Chad Ruhwedel, Ryan Shea and forward Marc Johnstone were healthy scratches.
• The Penguins’ most recent shutout loss to the Maple Leafs was a 4-0 road setback on Feb. 20, 2020. Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 24 saves in that victory.
• In addition to Matthews, Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie was scratched due to an undisclosed illnesses. Matthews entered Saturday as the NHL’s leader in goals with 23 in 27 games.
• The Maple Leafs placed former Penguins forward Ryan Reaves on injured reserve earlier in the day due to an undisclosed ailment.