Maple Leafs stay hot with 4-1 win over Penguins

Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists Saturday as the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs extended their point streak to eight games with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist, Pontus Holmberg and William Nylander also scored, and Michael Bunting had two assists for the Maple Leafs, who are 6-0-2 on their point streak.

Toronto goaltender Erik Kallgren made 25 saves.

Rickard Rakell scored for the Penguins. Goaltender Casey DeSmith made 37 saves.

Marner opened the scoring and extended his hot streak on the game’s first shift.

With Pittsburgh making a line change, Matthews set up Marner for an open look near the left point. Marner moved in, swept across the top of the slot and beat DeSmith inside the far post 40 seconds into the first for a 1-0 Maple Leafs lead.

That gave Marner a 16-game point streak.

Toronto had the better of the play in the first, thanks at least in part to lapses in puck management by the Penguins. Toronto had a 17-5 edge in shots going into the second.

Things stayed on that course in the second, with the Maple Leafs coming out with a 3-0 lead and a 27-15 shots advantage.

At 7:58 of the second, the Penguins had a goal waved off as it was ruled the puck was dead before Rakell reached behind Kallgren to poke it in.

Holmberg increased Toronto’s lead to 2-0 at 9:55 of the second. Marner caught Penguins defenseman Kris Letang off guard near the right corner, stole the puck and fed it to the slot, where Holmberg roofed it past DeSmith.

At 10:50 of the second, Marner, from near the right post, fed Nylander in the slot for a one-timer to boost it to 3-0.

Pittsburgh got on the board at 11:38 of the third when Rakell scored from the right circle to cut it to 3-1.

–Field Level Media

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