The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the NHL’s best outfits in preventing goals this season. Entering Saturday, their overall goals-against average of 2.61 was the fourth-best figure in the 32-team league.

On Saturday, that tabulation was torn asunder by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who pillaged their way to a 7-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena.

Rookie goaltender Arturs Silovs was pulled early for the second consecutive game he has started. Unofficially making six saves on 10 shots in only 24 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time, his record was leveled at 4-4-4.

In his most recent previous appearance, Silovs lasted a mere 21:06 of ice time after also stopping six of 10 shots in a 5-0 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 21.

Veteran goaltender Tristan Jarry finished Saturday’s contest and made 10 saves on 13 shots over 34:43 of ice time.

Through the bulk of the campaign, team defense and goaltending had been a strength of the Penguins. But it’s far from a finished product (particularly after Saturday’s rout).

“It’s something that we’re talking about a lot as a group,” coach Dan Muse said prior to the game. “We practice it. I still think it’s an area there that we need to improve. It’s an area that we’re continuing to look at.”

They might need an electron microscope — or dental records — to look at the carcass of this ugly loss.

Just finding the right verbiage to explain this seemed to be a struggle for the Penguins following the game.

“This one is hard to assess,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “Looks like we had tons of chances and we just didn’t grab the momentum by putting the puck in the net. After that, every time we made mistakes or we opened up the game, they capitalized on it.”

Silovs’ thoughts on the topic are a matter of speculation. A request to speak with him was declined by a team official.

His coach offered an arguably stiffer defense of the goaltender than Silovs provided of the net he was defending most of the evening.

“We don’t need to put him in those spots,” Muse said. “Yes, I understand the last two games there, I’ve made that decision to make a change. But he’s been really good this year. You’ve got to go back to that. We’re going to keep working with him.

“And we also have to be better in front of him. A lot of those are preventable. There’s going to be breakdowns in the game. A lot of what you saw there today, a lot of that is preventable. We can be tighter. We can make it harder. It was too easy for them on a couple of those goals today, I think, early on.”

The opening score of the contest largely validated that postulate. Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s fourth goal of the season came 6:46 into regulation.

Collecting a banked puck off the right wall of the offensive zone, Ekman-Larsson went deep into the near corner and forced a pass toward the right of the cage intended for Maple Leafs rookie forward Easton Cowan. The puck wound up hitting off the left skate of Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, however, and sat loose in the lower right circle. Ekman-Larsson jumped on his own rebound and lifted a wrister past Silovs’ blocker. Linemates Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews had assists.

Ekman Larsson 4th of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/O2IpOOeHIP

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

The hosts tied the game less than two minutes later at 8:14 of the first period during a power-play sequence via rookie forward Ben Kindel’s sixth goal.

Off the left half wall of Toronto’s zone, Penguins forward Bryan Rust forced a backhand pass attempt for linemate Sidney Crosby, but Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton broke up the sequence with a poke check in the near circle. Crosby and Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz each jabbed at the puck, causing it to hop up in the air and strike the crook of Laughton’s right arm. With the puck still airborne, Kindel, stationed low in the circle, swiped an opposite field single that fluttered past rookie goaltender Dennis Hildeby’s blocker on the far side. Crosby and Rust racked up assists.

Ben Kindel scores his third goal in just two games vs the Leafs ???? pic.twitter.com/goqFO785bV

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 30, 2025

Cowan’s third goal restored a lead for the Maple Leafs at 11:06 of the opening frame.

Collecting a rimmed puck behind the Penguins’ net, Cowan maneuvered a bit toward the right corner and then fed a pass to the high slot. Linemate William Nylander accepted the puck but one-touched it back to Cowan, who swiped a one-timer into a mostly vacant cage as Silovs struggled to maintain positioning while reacting to the sequence’s passing. The puck glanced off of Wotherspoon’s stick before entering the cage. Nylander and defenseman Morgan Rielly registered assists.

"COWAN OFF THE RIGHT SIDE!"

Cowan 3rd of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/RuRjUoTsgG

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

The visitors took a 3-1 lead 2:24 into the second period with forward Bobby McMann’s sixth goal.

Off a faceoff at center ice, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin won the draw but failed to cleanly connect on a pass with defenseman Ryan Graves and the puck sailed into the right corner of the Penguins’ zone. Graves got to the errant puck first but succumbed to pressure from a forechecking McMann, who maneuvered behind the cage and fed a backhand pass to the left point. Rielly accepted the puck and played some hot potato along the blue line with Ekman-Larsson before firing a wrister from the center point. McMann gained some space on Malkin in the slot and deflected the puck with his stick. The puck appeared to strike off the right skate of Dumba and deflect into the cage. Rielly and Ekman-Larsson logged assists.

"A DEFLECTION IN FRONT OF THE NET!"

McMann 6th of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/3yIE4zJhqa

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

Maple Leafs forward Dakota Joshua chased Silovs with his third goal at 4:53 of the second frame.

Taking a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Maple Leafs defenseman Troy Stetcher lifted a wrister toward the cage. In the near circle, Letang blocked the puck but was unable to play the rebound, allowing Maple Leafs forward Nicolas Roy to tap it forward to Joshua. Spinning to his right, Joshua fired a wrister past the right skate of Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea and through Silovs’ five hole.

"JOSHUA GETS THE REBOUND AND RIPS IT HOME!"

Joshua 3rd of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/prwnZl8iku

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

“The goalie (change), most of the time, it’s just to kind of take a breather, take a break and try to spark the team,” Letang said. “It’s not the performance a lot of times. It’s just a way to maybe calm things down, change the momentum, spark something.”

Any hopes for a spark largely went unrealized as the Penguins largely continued to self-immolate.

Jarry didn’t fare much better as Roy scored his second goal during a power-play opportunity at 13:58 of the middle period.

Off some perimeter puck movement in the offensive zone, McMann shuffled a forehand shot on net from the left circle and Jarry denied it. As Jarry tried to smother the rebound, Maple Leafs forward Max Domi barged in to claim possession and from the end boards, he slipped a pass to the slot. Roy escaped the clutches of Letang and punched in an easy forehand shot by the right leg of a distressed Jarry. Domi and McMann merited assists.

Roy 2nd of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/uS6femNhFe

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

Crosby’s team-leading 16th goal came 4:37 into the third period and offered some brief but false hope.

After Knies claimed an errant pass attempt by Rust in Toronto’s zone, Penguins forward Kevin Hayes stole it right back within the left circle then fed a short-area pass to the right of the crease for Crosby. With minimal resistance, Crosby shuffled a backhander to the far side past Hildeby’s left skate and under his glove. The only assist went to Hayes.

Sid continues to inch closer to that Penguins point record ???? pic.twitter.com/d2m8cx4f51

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) November 30, 2025

Any notion of a comeback attempt was euthanized at 7:14 of the final frame when forward Auston Matthews scored his 10th goal.

Domi gained the offensive zone on the right wing and left a drop pass at the point for Matthews. With Rust inadvertently serving as a screen, Matthews pumped a wrister to the far side beyond the grasp of Jarry’s blocker. Domi and Knies notched assists.

“GOOD TO SEE THE BIG BOY BACK ON THE BOARD!”

Matthews 10th of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/cxfgvCxuaY

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

Robertson put the extra point through the uprights with his sixth goal at 13:16 of the third. Off an exchange with Jarry, Dumba raced out from behind the Penguins’ net and attempted to lead a rush up ice, only to have the puck swiped by Robertson in the high slot. Unimpeded, Robertson shuffled a wrister through Jarry’s five hole. There were no assists.

Robertson 6th of the Season vs Penguins

???? @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph pic.twitter.com/BUzJcRC5x6

— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 30, 2025

The ugly score wasn’t necessarily reflective of some of the puck possession metrics. Overall, the Penguins had 35 shots on 87 attempts while the Maple Leafs were limited to 23 shots on 44 attempts.

But the biggest numbers on the scoreboard are what matter, and the Penguins were on the wrong end of that battle.

“The quality of the chances we gave up were just too good,” Crosby said. “I thought we had the puck for a good chunk of it, but when we did have breakdowns, they were big ones and quality chances.”

Saturday’s loss closed out a stretch in November that was far from quality for the Penguins. They finished the month with a 4-5-3 record. That represents a significant drop from a strong October when they were 8-2-2.

The Penguins open December with a road contest against the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. In addition to a win, they’ll be on a (continuing) search for better defense.

“Every point matters,” Muse said. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re working to get those points. In order to do that, we have to play better defensively than we did tonight. We have to build it where our game is sustainable. It’s a sustainable game there that night in and night out, we know what we’re going to be bringing within those things that we can control.

“We’re (at a part of the) schedule right now that the games are coming here. We’ll look at it, meet, we’ll work to get better. And it’s going to be a quick turnaround here before (Philadelphia).”

Notes:

• This result matched the Penguins’ most lopsided losses this season in terms of goal differential. In addition to the previously mentioned 5-0 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 21, they were thumped 6-1 by the New York Rangers on Oct. 11.

• Crosby (461 goals) surpassed forward Dave Andreychuk (460) for 15th place on the NHL’s career goal-scoring list.

• Half of Kindel’s goals this season (and his career, for that matter) have come against the Maple Leafs. He previously scored twice during a 4-3 road loss to the Maple Leafs on Nov. 3.

• Penguins rookie forward Tristan Broz and defenseman Connor Clifton were healthy scratches.

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