Penguins fall in lethargic loss to Maple Leafs

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan isn’t overly eager to offer the granular details of how his team conducts business.

But he will offer something of a basic framework of what he expects from those he deploys on the ice.

For example, how should they defend against an opponent with a potent offensive arsenal such as the one possessed by the Toronto Maple Leafs?

“Our team is at its best when we’re taking away time and space from our opponents in all three zones,” Sullivan said to media in Toronto following an optional morning skate Thursday. “It can’t be isolated effort. It has to be collective effort. When we’re on the same page as a group of five out there, I think we’re hard to play against. We bring a certain stingy game to the table that makes us hard to play against.

“It’s hard to score your way to championships in this league. You have to be able to keep the puck out of your net.”

The Penguins did little to suggest they were worthy of any kind of trophy Thursday as they were defeated by the Maple Leafs, 4-1, snapping a four-game winning streak.

Despite outshooting the Maple Leafs, 46-29, the Penguins offered an effort that displayed all the urgency of a dial-up modem right from the start.

“We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “They’re a really dangerous team and we gave them quality looks. They’re going to punish you when you do that. It wasn’t our best.”

The Maple Leafs scored on their first shot of the game 21 seconds into regulation.

After an offensive zone turnover by Penguins forward Bryan Rust, Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie claimed the puck above the left circle and snapped a pass up the right wing, springing forward Auston Matthews on a breakaway. Attacking the cage, Matthews snapped a wrister past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker for his 33rd goal of the season. Brodie had the lone assist.

A power-play goal at 5:31 of the second period put the Maple Leafs up by two.

After goaltender Jack Campbell settled a puck near his own cage, he handed it off to defenseman Morgan Rielly. Controlling it behind the net, Rielly surveyed the rink for a moment before embarking on an end-to-end mad dash through the Penguins’ penalty killers.

After surging up his own slot by Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese, Rielly then weaved his way around lumbering forward Brian Boyle at the center red line before gaining the offensive zone. Darting past defenseman John Marino, Rielly essentially ignored the passive resistance provided by defenseman Brian Dumoulin before roofing a wrister from the left circle over Jarry’s right shoulder on the near side for his sixth goal. Campbell received the only assist and became the first goaltender to record a point against the Penguins this season.

The Maple Leafs went up by a field goal with a short-handed score at 18:36 of the middle frame.

Under pressure by Maple Leafs forward David Kampf at the offensive blue line, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang lost the puck to Rielly, who created something of a breakaway. With Letang diving for a poke check, Reilly was able to pass the puck around Letang’s stick to the front of the crease for Kampf, who deked Jarry out of position and tucked a forehand shot into the cage for his seventh goal. Rielly collected the only assist.

During the sequence, the net was dislodged by Jarry’s left skate, but the goal stood per NHL rules — rule 63.7 to be precise — which allows play to continue during an imminent scoring situation if a defending player knocks the net free and if the puck would have entered the net normally were it still in position.

The Penguins’ typically dangerous power play was mostly feeble throughout the contest, going 0 for 5 while allowing Kampf’s goal.

“A couple of times on the entries, we struggled,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “Then we got it in and got some zone time and then maybe forced a play or two. We couldn’t make that next pass to break pressure. Against a team that pressures, they’re going to try to force mistakes. They did a good job of that. We’ve got to be better as far as making plays.”

Campbell’s shutout bid was spoiled 3:33 into the third period.

After gaining the offensive zone at center point, Penguins forward Jeff Carter lost possession on a poke check in the slot by Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. Evgeni Malkin claimed the puck in the left circle and chipped a quick wrister on net. Campbell made the initial save then denied Carter on the ensuing rebound from the left of the crease. Malkin followed up by jamming in the puck with a forehand shot past Campbell’s left skate for his sixth goal. Carter tallied the only assist.

The Maple Leafs restored a three-goal lead at 6:06.

Pushing the puck deep on the right wing, Matthews saucered a slick backhand pass over the stick of Dumoulin to the front of the crease. Linemate Michael Bunting accepted the puck on his forehand and deked to his backhand. As Jarry slid out of position, Bunting tucked the puck into a mostly vacant net for his 16th goal. Assists went to Matthews and Marner.

Jarry, who established a new career-high with his 40th game of the season, made 25 saves on 29 shots as his record fell to 25-9-6.

His team fell Thursday after offering one of its least impressive efforts of the season.

“We’ve got to be better and we’ve got to execute better,” Crosby said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t. Whether it was special teams or five-on-five, we just didn’t do a good enough job executing. It’s hard to win games like that.”

Notes: Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues recorded his first penalty minutes of the season with minor infractions during the first and second periods. Rodrigues was the last member of the Penguins’ active roster (non-goaltender) who had yet to accrue penalty minutes. Entering Thursday, Rodrigues had played the most games in the NHL (50) without being penalized this season. … The Penguins’ scratches were defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Radim Zohorna. … Attendance was listed as 8,139. Scotiabank Arena was permitted to be at 50% capacity for the first time since Dec. 11. Restrictions in Ontario related to covid-19 have capped capacity at 500 for sporting venues.