Penguins score seven in win against Maple Leafs

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins scored six straight goals without their top three centers in a 7-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

Marcus Pettersson had a goal and two assists, Drew O'Connor scored twice and Tristan Jarry made 28 saves for the Penguins (3-0-2), who were missing centers
Sidney Crosby
(wrist),
Evgeni Malkin
(knee) and Jeff Carter (NHL COVID-19 protocol), right wing Bryan Rust (lower body) and defenseman Kris Letang (COVID-19 protocol).
"We've been in this situation before, with a lot of guys missing," Pettersson said. "We've always talked about having that next-man-up mentality. When we have a great system to rely on, everyone trusts it."

Jack Campbell was pulled after allowing five goals on 21 shots through the first two periods for the Maple Leafs (2-3-1). Michael Hutchinson made 10 saves in relief after starting a 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
"I have a lot of thoughts, obviously. Not many good ones," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It's tough playing from behind. (We've) been doing it too much lately. But Pittsburgh, full marks. They were fast and competitive all through the game. They don't make it easy on you.
"Sometimes when we were careless with the puck, they made us pay for it. That was pretty consistent all the way through."
The Penguins had a 1-0 lead for 51 seconds after a shot from Pettersson went off O'Connor at 11:53 of the first period.
"I think a lot of it is just battling," O'Connor said. "Something I didn't do as well, maybe, last game. So, I tried to focus on it a bit."
Jason Spezza tied it 1-1 at 12:44 with his third goal in six games. Pierre Engvall sent a shot to the right of the net, where Spezza scored on a wrist shot.
Mike Matheson and Jason Zucker scored 15 seconds apart to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead early in the second period.
Matheson drove past Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin and scored on a wraparound to make it 2-1 at 1:38. Zucker made it 3-1 with a snap shot at 1:53.
O'Connor shot off Muzzin and in for his third NHL goal, extending the lead to 4-1 at 11:01 of the second.
"The mood ain't great," Muzzin said. "You lose like that, it's not a good mood. But it's early in the season. It's a test for us. Let's see how we respond."
Pettersson took a pass from Evan Rodrigues before taking a wrist shot from the slot to make it 5-1 at 13:59 of the second. Pettersson scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 47 games last season.
"I think Marcus is playing with a whole lot of confidence," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "And I think because of that, his whole overall game has just improved. His gaps are better, he's making better decisions with the puck, he's more assertive in all aspects of his game."

Brian Boyle extended Pittsburgh's lead to 6-1 on a one-timer, the first shot against Hutchinson, 20 seconds into the third period.
Rodrigues scored a power-play goal at 2:24 for the 7-1 final.
"That's not good enough tonight," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said. "Other than tonight's game, I think there's obviously other games where we've had stretches where we haven't played to our capability, but we have an opportunity to win each and every night. We have a lot of hockey left to play. No doubt we have to respond."
NOTES:Pittsburgh played a regular-season game without Crosby, Malkin and Letang for the first time since April 9, 2017. It lost 3-2 to the New York Rangers in Jarry's NHL debut. … Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has not scored a goal in six games this season, and center Auston Matthews has gone three games without a point. Marner had not been held without a goal in six straight regular-season games since going seven in a row without scoring from Feb. 16-Feb. 29, 2020. … Before allowing five goals Saturday, Campbell had given up four in four games (three starts) this season. …... Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen had two assists in his first game against the Maple Leafs since being traded from Toronto on Aug. 25, 2020. He scored 90 points (41 goals, 49 assists) in 202 games with the Maple Leafs from 2015-2020. … Fourteen players have scored a goal for the Penguins this season. The Minnesota North Stars (16 in 1983-84) and Calgary Flames (1985-86) are the only NHL teams who have had more unique goal scorers through the first five games of a season.