Valtteri Puustinen has an opportunity to solidify his role with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After turning a four-game losing streak into back-to-back wins, the Pittsburgh Penguins stuck north of the boarder for their second chance of the year against the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the first time, Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas was back in Toronto after five years as Maple Leafs GM. While the Penguins are slowly returning to health, the Maple Leafs entered the contest down their top scorer in Auston Matthews and defenseman T.J. Brodie. FIRST PERIOD Despite being down Matthews, one of their top youngsters in Matthew Knies scored within the opening two minutes to secure an early lead. It didn’t take long after the goal for a level of heat to be brought between the two teams. A fight between Knies and Penguins’ defenseman John Ludvig was followed shortly by Simon Benoit and Lars Eller took roughing penalties against each other top open up a 4-on-4. No one recorded on with the extra ice, but the Leafs took a two-goal advantage after an easy 2-on-1 break for Mitch Marner. In the dying minutes of the opening frame, a weak Penguins turnover wound up behind Tristan Jarry off the stick of Bobby McMann for his first career goal. There were plenty of penalties through the first period, but the Maple Leafs carried all of the momentum to take a 3-0 lead into the intermission. SECOND PERIOD That momentum carried early in the second frame for the Maple Leafs as Jarry allowed a fourth goal before the second period was three minutes old. Max Domi’s second goal of the season and third point of the game chased Jarr from the Penguins’ net for Alex Nedeljkovic. Kris Letang followed the goaltending change with a two-minute holding penalty and paired it with a 10-minute misconduct; the Leafs made it a 5-0 game on the ensuing power play. The Penguins continued to take penalties and the Maple Leafs stellar offense continued to take full advantage making it a 6-0 lead with five minutes left in the second period. THIRD PERIOD It was a nightmare game for the Penguins and they still had an entire third period to force their way through. For a good chunk of the final 20, there was no offense from either team, but the Maple Leafs eventually broke through for their seventh of the night. With the final whistle blowing on the 7-0 win for the Maple Leafs, it officially marked the worst shutout loss the Penguins have suffered since Sidney Crosby broke into the league. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Rickard Rakell Not Ready for Return to Penguins Lineup [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/rickard-rakell-not-ready-pittsburgh-penguins-lineup] Goaltending Has Stood Out for Penguins This Season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/goaltending-stood-out-pittsburgh-penguins] Penguins Have Not Lost Stanley Cup Ambitions [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/pittsburgh-penguins-not-lost-stanley-cup-ambitions] Penguins Organization Releases Defenseman from AHL Contract [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/pittsburgh-penguins-release-defenseman-ahl-contract] Scoring Struggles Clouding Perception of Penguins Defenseman [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/podcasts/scoring-struggles-clouding-perception-pittsburgh-penguins-defenseman] * undefined * undefined
