Maple Leafs rise to the occasion in pressure-filled rematch with Penguins

A silencer.

In the most significant challenge of their season to date, the Toronto Maple Leafs returned the favour in their rematch with Pittsburgh, soundly defeating the Penguins 4-0 on Thursday after being embarrassed on the road in their matchup two nights earlier.

Frederik Andersen earned his first victory this month with a 24-save shutout, while the ever-galvanizing Jake Muzzin earned a dribble with the game ball thanks to his team-high three points. William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Zach Hyman scored in addition to Muzzin, while Tavares notched two assists with prowess in the faceoff circle.

The Maple Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Until then, four points.

Rising to the occasion

News media doesn’t hang around the rink all that often, but when it does, the Maple Leafs are normally unveiling something press conference-worthy, or things have turned ugly.

While I suppose it’s true, the Leafs did have an introduction to make with Denis Malgin shepherded into the biggest scrum he’ll experience in his life this morning. But the six-o’clock news wasn’t about to feature the former Florida Panthers forward.

No, coming off the low point of the season in Pittsburgh, and once again residing outside the postseason picture, the scent of blood was in the air.

It made for a tense morning, but a sweet night.

The Leafs rose to the occasion, performing at their very best all season, when the opportunity seemed to be there for the Penguins to really bury them. Yes, there were impressive wins over the Blues, Islanders and Stars, and that near-perfect period versus the Panthers might still be the standard they are chasing, but considering the opponent, the noise, the questions, and the pressure (especially on Andersen), it was by far the Leafs’ best win of the season.

It was three goals in five minutes in the second period that propelled Toronto to this critical victory, but it was more how the Maple Leafs bookended the middle frame. Andersen’s five saves on a Penguins’ power play late in the first period prevented the game from taking on an entirely different direction, while a complete third-period performance, in which the Leafs held the Penguins to just two shots, was certainly most impressive.

Better optimized

Pittsburgh is the type of team that will locate your weakness, and attack it.

So in the event you decide to ice two lines with a definite fourth-line feel versus the Penguins, it probably doesn’t matter that you have saturated your scoring lines with as much talent as possible. Because in all likelihood, Sidney Crosby and Co. will find your shortcuts, and exploit them.

In plugging Malgin on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, Sheldon Keefe was able to lend a fix to his sputtering third line by bumping Alexander Kerfoot back down with Kasperi Kapanen and Pierre Engvall. The move re-established a clear pecking order and a traditional talent gradient that was lacking in the first meeting, while leaving less in the way of soft spots for the Penguins to target,

Kerfoot filled his old role exceptionally well, and Kapanen was absolutely at his best tonight. The lineup change played as significant a role as any in the Leafs being able to manage and neutralize the challenges the Penguins provide.

Work habits

Denis Malgin didn’t do anything extraordinary in his debut, but he definitely exceeded most expectations — including his coach’s.

Keefe said he understood Malgin had some skills to apply in the offensive zone, but was pleasantly surprised by the “work habits” he can pair with it.

The diminutive forward was highly-facilitative for Tavares and Nylander, staying on pucks, causing disruptions, and just showing a real keen awareness in the offensive zone.

Those habits were a big reason the Leafs were able to score first, as his screen helped Muzzin score the icebreaker on a well-placed shot from the point.

Sustaining it

Of all the players that were asked how the performance versus Pittsburgh could be replicated, and there were many, none answered better than Andersen.

“You gotta be pissed off when you get here,” he said.

Louder for those in the back, Fred.

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