The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled with closing leads again, but they held on against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

One of the biggest problems that plagued the Pittsburgh Penguins throughout the 2022-23 season was their tendency to struggle with closing out leads.

Far more often that was acceptable, the Penguins led multi-goal leads slip away to opponents and played a huge role in their missing the playoffs by just a single standings point.

Even as the 2023-24 season reaches the quarter-season mark, they are still finding ways to let leads slip away.

In their most recent back-to-back, the Penguins let a two-goal lead get away from them against the Buffalo Sabres, but things were different against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Only leading by a goal heading into the final frame, the Penguins shut down the Maple Leafs and held on for a big win over a tough opponent.

What did they do differently? The Leafs are a much better offensive team than the Sabres and they were dominating the pace of play in the third period.

“I think we just defended a little bit harder,” Sidney Crosby said. “Did a better job making better decisions that didn’t allow them to get odd-man rushes or clean looks.”

In that final period, the Maple Leafs launched 13 shots on goal, while the Penguins only picked up three.

Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry stood tall against all 13 to maintain a 3-2 win.

“Just being able to shut players down like that gives up confidence,” Jarry said. “It gives us something go into next game with.”

Head coach Mike Sullivan liked what he saw defensively from the fourth line and from Jarry in net, speaking highly of their performances late in the contest.

Prior to the contest, Sullivan alluded to criticism the team receives when they blow leads of allow first goals.

This time around, the Penguins not only allowed the first goal, but also held their lead in the closing frame.

"We didn't get the first goal tonight," Sullivan said. "But, we were able to dig in and find ways to respond."

The Penguins are still only a .500 team after 20 games and have an uphill battle left to fight, but they found a way to win after continuously discovering ways to lose.

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