Musings: Penguins Fall to Toronto in Last Game Before Holiday Break

The Penguins gave the Maple Leafs some gifts in their last game before the holiday break, and paid for it. Toronto ended up with a 6-3 win, though the score isn’t necessarily reflective of Pittsburgh’s effort.

“I think we didn't play a bad game by any means. I think we just got punished when we made the big mistakes,” Erik Karlsson said. “And that's what a good team does to you sometimes, and they did that to us today... overall, tough loss, one that probably looks a little bit more lopsided on the scoresheet than it actually was.”

The Penguins appeared to open the scoring just under 13 minutes into the first period, but the Maple Leafs successfully challenged for goalie interference.

Toronto then got on the board first after William Nylander capitalized on a turnover, scoring on a breakaway with a beautiful move. The Penguins responded with a breakaway goal of their own shortly after, this one coming from Bryan Rust. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh went into the first intermission down 2-1 after a tough bounce off the stick of Parker Wotherspoon ended up in the back of the net.

In the second period, the Maple Leafs converted on another breakaway that started after Karlsson lost possession at the offensive blue line. Stuart Skinner made the first stop before Steven Lorentz was able to put the rebound home.

“He did a good job staying with me. I kind of ran out of options and lost an edge and fell and again, they capitalized on it,” Karlsson said. “It stinks. And it's obviously stuff like that you can eliminate. But then at the same time, things can happen, you got to move on. And like I said, I don't think we caught any breaks today, and they caught all of them, and they made us pay for it.”

Pittsburgh again responded, this time with a goal from Rutger McGroarty on a good shift from the Kid Line. The three rookies – McGroarty, Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen – had a strong game.

“I think that we've been pretty good the whole time we've been together,” McGroarty said. “I think definitely the more games you get, more comfortable you're going to be and I feel like there's some little things that we're definitely picking up off of each other. I really enjoy playing with those two guys. They're two really hockey players, and they work really hard. And we can do some good stuff when we're out there.”

In the third period, Anthony Mantha tied it at 3-3 exactly one minute in. But a few minutes later, the Maple Leafs had a third breakaway, with Skinner denying Nylander.

“He's been great. I mean, from the second he got here, just an incredible guy,” McGroarty said of his goaltender, acquired from Edmonton in a trade earlier this month. “Super easy guy to root for. It makes it very easy once you're stepping in front of a puck or in a battle or whatever, it just motivates you that much more because of how good of a guy is. And I think overall, I think that he stood on his head, and he was there when we needed him. And we just can't give up that many good looks."

Kindel had to take a penalty on the play, and Toronto converted during the ensuing man-advantage to take a 4-3 lead. They got two empty-netters late in the game to make it 6-3, which stood as the final score.

This was Pittsburgh’s last game before the holiday break. They will have a few days off to rest and regroup before returning to action on Sunday in Chicago.

“It's going to be nice, I think,” Karlsson said. “In general, we just got to come back and look forward, not behind us.”

Here’s what Head Coach Dan Muse had to say after the game.

I thought you had the puck a lot today. Was it just a matter of self-inflicted wounds that cost you in terms of carelessness with the puck? Yeah, I think the chances that we gave up, they were big ones. I think there was a lot that we could have controlled to not allow those types of chances. That ended up factoring in in a big way in the game.

Anything that linked some of those plays? Forcing things, trying too hard? Or are they kind of all different in your mind? I mean, some of the stuff in the high ice, they pressure hard. And so, I think we got caught there trying to make some plays in high ice. And then also, I think whenever there is pressure up high, too, also having somebody else ready to back that up. So, it's both parts.

You guys have given up at least four goals in seven of the last eight games. Is there something you could put your finger on in terms of why that might be happening, or is it just kind of everything? I think it goes to some of these types of chances we're talking about, you know? It's odd-man rushes, breakaways. There's going to be breakdowns in the game, and those are going to happen. I think right now, it's too frequent.

Maybe on a positive note, the Kid Line seemed to have a pretty good game? Yeah, I thought they played well. I thought they were able to get some things going there in the offensive zone. Obviously, the goal, but I thought there were other chances, other looks they had as well.

Is your team playing too high-risk hockey right now? I think some of those, I don't know if it's overall, all the time. I think you got to recognize some of the situations, too... where you are on the ice, where you are in your shift. I think that's recognition that could have been improved in today’s game.