Maple Leafs 3, Penguins 2 (SO)
PITTSBURGH -- Center Peter Holland and right winger Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau scored on Toronto's only shootout attempts and the Maple Leafs shook off a bad loss the night before to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Winger David Perron scored for Pittsburgh in the shootout, but Toronto goalie Jonathan Bernier turned aside center Sidney Crosby -- who had a goal and an assist in regulation-- and defenseman Kris Letang.
A game that began with plenty of up-and-down skating and scoring chances -- the Penguins had 20 shots just in the second period -- turned into a goaltenders' duel between Bernier (39 saves) and Pittsburgh rookie Matthew Murray (34 saves).
The Maple Leafs, coming off a 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday, jumped into a 1-0 lead on defenseman Dion Phaneuf's slap shot from just inside the blue line 3:51 into the game. Right winger Michael Grabner effectively screened goalie Matthew Martin even as Pittsburgh defenseman Ben Lovejoy tried pushing him out of the way.
The Penguins' 28th-ranked power-play unit tied it less than two minutes later on left winger Chris Kunitz's fifth goal. With center Peter Holland off for hooking, Crosby steered a pass between defenseman Morgan Rielly's legs directly onto Kunitz's uplifted stick near the left goal post.
The Maple Leafs answered 1:13 into the second period as defenseman Jake Gardiner tipped left winger James van Riemsdyk's shot from the right circle. The puck flew directly past Murray's upstretched glove and into the net for Gardiner's third.
Then Crosby, who has begun picking up his offensive game after a season-long slump, scored his second in three games -- after going seven games without a goal. His inside-outside move froze Bernier at 4:45 of the second. Crosby, a former NHL scoring champion, still has only eight goals in 35 games.
Murray, in only his fourth NHL game, made a potential game-saving save on right winger Daniel Winnik late in the third.
In the second, Bernier stopped right winger Phil Kessel on a breakaway that would have given Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in a game in which the teams alternated scoring the first four goals.
NOTES: Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), who last played Dec. 14, practiced Tuesday for the first time since getting hurt but was not in uniform as rookie G Matthew Murray played in his fourth NHL game. ... Penguins D Kris Letang returned after missing nine of the previous 11 games -- including a Sunday 1-0 loss in Winnipeg -- with multiple injuries, including a concussion. ... The Maple Leafs were expected to start G James Reimer (groin) for the first time since Dec. 3; he finished up a 6-3 loss Tuesday to the New York Islanders on Tuesday but apparently was reinjured. G Jonathan Bernier was back in net despite allowing six goals on 15 shots against the Islanders. ... Toronto scratched D Frank Corrado, RW Mark Arcobello and Reimer. The Penguins sat down LW Sergei Plotnikov, D Adam Clendening and D David Warsofsky.