Even if for a fleeting moment, it felt like a bygone era in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ wild 6-5 overtime win at PPG Paints Arena resembled something that would have happened more than two decades ago across Centre Avenue in the venue formerly known as Mellon Arena.

As was the case in the early 2000s, thousands of Maple Leafs fans in blue and white jerseys scooped up whatever tickets they could find on the World Wide Web and inhabited the current arena, offering sing-song “Go Leafs Go” chants to combat the “Let’s Go Pens!” bellowed by locals.

To be certain, this was not a carbon copy of a Penguins-Maple Leafs game from, say, 2003. The current building doesn’t have a leaky roof and the likes of Toronto luminaries such as Mats Sundin weren’t scoring breakaway goals against beleaguered Penguins goaltenders like Jean-Sebastian Aubin.

On Sunday, All-Star forward William Nylander’s 35th goal on rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist exactly one minute into the extra period was the difference.

But one prevailing essence from this game made it feel just like a night at the Mellon Arena 20 years ago without listening to Linkin Park on an MP3 player.

This is what it looks like when the Penguins are rebuilding.

The Penguins’ ongoing remodeling project isn’t quite as scorched earth as what happened following the departure of the iconic Jaromir Jagr in 2001.

Sidney Crosby is still here and he’s going to do whatever he can to keep the Penguins competitive, as evidenced by his three-point effort (one goal, two assists) on Sunday. Meanwhile, the post-Jagr Penguins were relying on the likes of defenseman Dick Tarnstrom to drive offense many nights.

But these Penguins are definitely refurbishing things. And with the NHL’s trade deadline looming on Friday, some of their better players — or at least those on expiring contracts — may be employed elsewhere in the near future.

“Obviously, this time of year (stinks),” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. “We’ve got to just get through this week. We’ve got to stay together as a team.”

Neither team seemed to be all that cohesive defensively to open the game as they combined for five goals.

Maple Leafs forward Max Domi opened the scoring 2:15 into regulation with his fourth goal of the season off a miscue by the Penguins.

From his own zone, Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit snapped a stretch pass attempt to the offensive blue line for Maple Leafs forward Nicolas Robertson who deflected it into the Penguins’ zone. The puck rolled in on net where Blomqvist opted to push it to the side, presumably intending to offload it to Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves. A wire was crossed on those ambitions and Graves wound up jabbing the puck off the end boards and losing possession. Robertson accepted the charity and backhanded the puck to the top of the crease. Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin was in sound defensive position but could not cleanly play the puck, allowing onrushing Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann to claim it. McMann fanned on a backhander attempt but the puck wound up sliding to the right of the crease where Domi cleaned it up with an easy forehand shot. McMann and Robertson had assists.

Toronto goal!

Scored by Max Domi with 17:45 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson.

Pittsburgh: 0Toronto: 1#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/pDtJhfCsfz

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

The visitors struck again at 4:39 of the first period via defenseman Conor Timmins’ second goal.

Accepting a pass above the Penguins’ right circle, Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg quickly snapped it to Timmins low in the opposite circle. From a difficult angle, Timmns lifted a wrister to the far side that glanced off of Blomqvist’s left shoulder and hit twine. Assists went to Holmberg and Nylander.

Toronto goal!

Scored by Conor Timmins with 15:21 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Pontus Holmberg and William Nylander.

Pittsburgh: 0Toronto: 2#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/4pK4jdPw5s

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

The Penguins managed to wake from their somnolent start to the contest and claimed a lead with a three-goal outburst within a span of 3:24 within the first period.

An unlikely source got the Penguins on the scoreboard when forward Cody Glass collected his fourth goal at the 10:27 mark.

After Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll collected a dump-in behind his cage and rimmed it to the right half-wall, Penguins forward Blake Lizotte wound up with the puck and swooped behind the cage before feeding a backhand pass to the top of the left circle where Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea dropped the hammer on a one-timer. Glass was battling with Holmberg at the lower left hashmark and the puck glanced off his right skate before finding an avenue past Woll’s glove on the far side. Shea and Lizotte logged assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Cody Glass with 09:33 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Ryan Shea and Blake Lizotte.

Pittsburgh: 1Toronto: 2#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/BglN9yC7Vy

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

A very likely source tied the game when forward Rickard Rakell scored his team-leading 27th goal 62 seconds later.

Crosby won a draw in the Maple Leafs’ left circle and directed the puck to the near point where it was claimed by Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. Surveying his options for a moment, Grzelcyk chucked a wrister wide on the near side that hit off the end boards and deflected to the opposite side of the cage. Rakell read the sequence like an instruction manual, got a step on Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and cleaned up the rebound with a forehand shot that clunked off the inside of the near post and slipped under the glove of an outstretched Woll. Grzelcyk and Crosby collected assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Rickard Rakell with 08:31 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Matt Grzelcyk and Sidney Crosby.

Pittsburgh: 2Toronto: 2#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/9xypbhi4cD

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

Crosby put his team in the lead at the 13:51 mark with his 19th goal during a power-play sequence.

Following a weak clearing effort by Timmins from near his own left corner, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson kept the puck in the offensive zone and initiated a sequence of precision passing that resulted in Crosby getting the puck in the left circle. Scanning for a shooting lane, Crosby identified one and snapped a wrister past Timmins’ stick and through Woll’s five hole. Karlsson and Rust registered assists.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Sidney Crosby with 06:09 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust.

Pittsburgh: 3Toronto: 2#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/bAht3292eI

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews’ 22nd goal tied the game 4:08 into the second period.

Settling a loose puck in the Penguins’ right corner, Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies turned to his right and dished a pass to the near circle for Matthews. Utilizing linemate Mitch Marner and Grzelcyk as a screen, Matthews fired a wrister through the five hole of Blomqvist who appeared to have lost vision of the puck on the sequence. Knies and Marner tallied assists.

Toronto goal!

Scored by Auston Matthews with 15:52 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner.

Pittsburgh: 3Toronto: 3#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/cERErqCasM

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

Some craftiness led to Rust’s 21st goal at 15:38 of the second frame.

Stealing a puck off of Knies near the benches, Karlsson chipped it up ice for Crosby who gained the offensive zone on the right wing and then crossed over with Rust before veering toward the high slot. Crosby then slipped a pass to the right circle for Rust who surged behind Ekman-Larsson, cut across the front of the crease and tucked a backhander by Woll’s left skate. Crosby and Karlsson claimed assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Bryan Rust with 04:22 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson.

Pittsburgh: 4Toronto: 3#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/kLIM31MSaP

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

In a fashion very fitting to those woebegone Penguins teams of the early 2000s, the current version of the club managed to allow two breakaway goals in the final minute of the second period.

First, forward John Tavares struck at the 19:04 mark for his 23rd goal.

Karlsson chucked the puck from his own left half wall into the Maple Leafs’ zone and made a line change, with the bench on the far side of the ice. Collecting Karlsson’s dump-in off his own left half-wall, Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe took advantage of the Penguins’ ramshackle line change and snapped a stretch pass, springing Tavares. As Shea and Grzelcyk offered futile pursuits, Tavares attacked the cage and snapped a wrister by Blomqvist’s blocker. The only assist went to McCabe.

Toronto goal!

Scored by John Tavares with 00:56 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Jake McCabe.

Pittsburgh: 4Toronto: 4#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/R3zRDvdtUC

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

Knies’ 23rd goal came at the last second, literally (19:59), through a squalid blunder by the hosts.

With six seconds remaining in the period, Crosby won a draw in Toronto’s left circle, directing the puck to the near point for Karlsson. Spinning backward, he forced a blind pass to the high slot intended for Malkin. Knies identified what the Penguins were attempting immediately and darted up ice, intercepted the pass and embarked on a race against the clock. Hustling into the offensive zone, Knies fired a wrister from well above the hashmarks that beat Blomqvist’s blocker with one-tenth of a second remaining in the period. Officials briefly reviewed video to confirm there was time remaining as the puck entered. There were no assists.

Toronto goal!

Scored by Matthew Knies with 00:01 remaining in the 2nd period.

Pittsburgh: 4Toronto: 5#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/epdnuanTsM

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

“I’ve played almost 1,100 games, that’s never happened with that little time left too,” Karlsson said. “It’s pretty much like a free play. We executed as fast we could. It’s just that they got a jump on it. I don’t really know what to say. … We talked about it and no (one has) seen that with (six) seconds left, whatever it was, in the offensive zone. We get a clean faceoff win. A clean pass over and they get a breakaway and they score.

“It’s obviously very unfortunate.”

Rakell’s fortunes continued to thrive as he scored again 10 seconds into the third period.

Off the opening faceoff of the period, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang chipped a puck up ice from the defensive zone. Near the visiting penalty box, Rust pressured Timmins and prevented him from touching the puck, allowing it to enter the Maple Leafs’ zone on the right wing. Rakell chased it down, pushed his way through passive defense from Matthews and attacked the cage, batting a backhander by Woll’s blocker. Rust and Letang had assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Rickard Rakell with 19:50 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Kris Letang and Ryan Shea.

Pittsburgh: 5Toronto: 5#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/KEUXugbRZ5

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

After that score, each team seemed to play sound defense and let things proceed to overtime where Nylander struck.

With the expanse of three-on-three play, Nylander lugged the puck up ice from his own zone, zipped past Rakell at Toronto’s blue line and gained the Penguins’ blue line. With Letang offering resistance, Nylander cut to the high slot and lifted a wrister against the grain past Blomqvist’s charred blocker. Defenseman Morgan Rielly and Matthews had assists.

Toronto goal!

Scored by William Nylander with 04:00 remaining in the OT period.

Assisted by Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews.

Pittsburgh: 5Toronto: 6#TORvsPIT #LetsGoPens #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/jGmOtdljNG

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 2, 2025

“For a lot of the night we were pretty good,” Rust said. “When we did make mistakes, they were fairly big mistakes. And they’ve got some guys who can score some goals over there.”

Blomqvist made 27 saves on 33 shots as his record fell to 4-9-1.

“It’s a game of mistakes,” Blomqvist said. “Things aren’t always going to go your way. You just need to reset and stay the course.”

The Penguins certainly look like they’ve plotted a course similar to one they took two decades ago.

Notes:

• Rakell’s first goal was his 500th career point.

• Karlsson (101 points) surpassed forwards Jeff Carter (100) and Blair Chapman (99) to move into 94th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• The Maple Leafs’ last overtime win against the Penguins happened approximately 10 months ago. McCabe scored the winning goal in a 3-2 home victory on April 8, 2024.

Toronto goal!

Scored by Jake McCabe with 03:30 remaining in the OT period.

Assisted by Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Toronto: 3Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsTOR #LeafsForever #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/N9LDnd8dqI

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 9, 2024

(That was the same day of a solar eclipse over much of North America.)

• In 56 career games against the Maple Leafs, Crosby has 73 points (30 goals, 43 assists).

• In 23 career games against the Penguins, Marner has 25 points (six goals, 19 assists).

• In six career games against the Penguins, Knies has seven points (five goals, two assists).

• Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph was scratched due to an undisclosed injury he suffered during Saturday’s 3-2 home loss to the Boston Bruins.

• Penguins forward Boko Imama and defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok were healthy scratches.

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