Penguins-Maple Leafs postgame

Thursday, 14 March 2013 22:56

Written by Dave Molinari

Final score: Penguins 3, Maple Leafs 1.

Why it matters: The Penguins' winning streak has grown to seven games, and they are tied with Montreal for first place in the Eastern Conference.

In a nutshell: For the second game in a row, the Penguins were trailing after two periods but rallied to win. But unlike their 3-2 victory against Boston Tuesday night, they were lackluster for much of the first two periods against the Maple Leafs, coming to life only in the final period. Nonetheless, Pascal Dupuis scored two goals in just over five minutes – the second not long after goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had denied Toronto's Leo Komarov on a breakaway – and Craig Adams clinched the outcome with an empty-net, shorthanded goal with 9.4 seconds remaining.

Turning point: Sidney Crosby changed the course of the game when, at 12:42 of the third period, he threw a blind, backhand pass to Dupuis, who was between the right circle and the crease, setting him up for the goal that made it 1-1 and got all the momentum going in the Penguins' favor.

Under the radar: The Penguins' penalty-killers, so often criticized – and rightly so – this season, snuffed all three of Toronto's attempts with the extra man, including one in the final 23 seconds of play, when the Penguins were protecting a 2-1 lead.

Worth noting: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and right winger James Neal were held without a point for the first time in seven games. ... Crosby's assist on the first Dupuis goal prevented him from being shut out in consecutive games for just the second time this season. ... The Penguins won the season series, 2-1, although it breaks down as 1-1-1 for Toronto. ... The Maple Leafs had scored four or more goals in seven of their previous 11 games against the Penguins. ... Crosby failed to score a goal against the Leafs for the first time in nine games, but still ran his career totals in 12 games in Toronto to nine games and seven assists.

The brightest star: Forget that he only had one point; Crosby was about as good all over the ice in this game as he has been all season. A lot of the defensive plays and blue-collar work he did won't show up on the scoresheet, but the things that do include a 16-11 record on faceoffs and a couple of hits.

The last word: Craig Adams, on the Penguins pulling out a victory with a late rally for the second game in a row: "It was a different game from the other night. The game against Boston, we were behind but we were playing really well and getting lots of chances. Kind of had the feeling that if we stuck with it, good things might happen. Tonight wasn't so good. It wasn't terrible, but it was a 50-50 game for a lot of the game. To our credit, we had a good third period."