First, Pittsburgh cleaned up its play with the puck. There were no glaring giveaways. There were no sloppy passes. There were no forced plays. Thanks to the better puck management, the Pens were able to…
Second, negate the Leafs' speed advantage. Toronto loves to jump on turnovers and feed its transition game. Pittsburgh seemed to give up odd-man rushes every other shift against Vancouver. But against a more dynamic and dangerous Leafs team, Pittsburgh was able to hold them at bay and limit their chances.
Third, the Pens were stronger on the puck. Pittsburgh seemed to lose the majority of puck battles in previous games against Vancouver and Montreal. As such, they weren't able to tilt the possession clock in its favor. The Pens' battle level was much higher from top to bottom against Toronto.
Fourth, the Pens' goaltender was good. Darn good. Matt Murray didn't have the best start to the season, surrendering 11 goals in the first 2 games and looking very un-Murray like. But against the Leafs, Murray was sharp, in position, calm and shrugged off the NHL's No. 1 offense.
In fact, he shrugged off all 38 Maple Leafs shots to record a shutout.
Fifth, Pittsburgh ran up the shot clock. There's nothing head coach Mike Sullivan likes to see more than his team putting the puck on the net. And shots came a plenty against the Leafs. It started with a 17-shot opening period, and ended with the Pens posting 39 in the game.
Even the winning goal came from Evgeni Malkin throwing a seemingly innocuous puck on net from a bad angle along the goal line. And that simple act was the difference in this game.
Sixth and so forth, the Pens made all the little plays that add up for a win. Phil Kessel was throwing body checks and getting in on the forecheck, and skated hard on a backcheck to deny John Tavares of a chance. Riley Sheahan absorbed a shot that left him on his backside just to get the puck in the zone. Jack Johnson obliterated Zach Hyman behind the net. The Pens blocked shots, made simple plays and it all added up.
Make no mistake, this win was less about skill and talent, and more about grit and determination. In a matchup between two of the highest flying, top-end skilled teams in the NHL, the Pens grinded out a victory.
It wasn't pretty. And that's why it was exactly what the Pens needed.
