NHL

Pittsburgh Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs

· National Hockey League

Marner helps Toronto beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in the Maple Leafs' home opener

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Highlights

William Nylander had two goals for Toronto, including an empty-netter. Matthew Knies also scored, Max Domi had two assists and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves.

It was the home debut for Toronto coach Craig Berube, who was hired in May. The Maple Leafs split their first two games of the season on the road.

Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh. Joel Blomqvist stopped 29 shots in his second NHL start after picking up his first victory Thursday in Detroit. Evgeni Malkin had two assists to give him 1,300 points for his career.

Leafs center John Tavares missed the game with an illness.

Toronto, which dropped to 0 for 9 this season on the power play, improved to 9-0-0 in its last nine home openers.

TAKEAWAYS

Maple Leafs: Finally got some production from one of their stars when Nylander tied it at 1 in the second period. Nylander, Auston Matthews and Marner were all held off the scoresheet through the first two games of the season.

Penguins: They were unable to connect on three power-play chances after Letang scored in the first.

KEY MOMENT

Pittsburgh led 1-0 early in the first, but a terrible line change and turnover early in the second created a 2-on-0 rush. Domi fed Nylander for his first goal of the season.

KEY STAT

Sidney Crosby assisted on Letang’s opener to become the 10th player in NHL history to register a combined 1,800 regular-season and playoffs points.

UP NEXT

The Leafs continue a four-game homestand Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Penguins finish a three-game trip Monday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Regular Season Series

TOR leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 10:58 Kris Letang Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Sidney Crosby (3), Evgeni Malkin (3)
Goal 2nd Period 0:50 William Nylander Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Max Domi (2)
Goal 2nd Period 2:53 Matthew Knies Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Morgan Rielly (1), Mitch Marner (1)
Goal 3rd Period 2:12 Mitch Marner Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 12:29 Rickard Rakell Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Evgeni Malkin (4)
Goal 3rd Period 19:38 William Nylander Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Max Domi (3)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR
10 Blocked Shots 17
13 Hits 17
12 Takeaways 8
23 Shots 33
1 Power Play Goals 0
4 Power Play Opportunities 3
25.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
22 Faceoffs Won 25
46.8 Faceoff Win Percent 53.2
9 Giveaways 17
3 Total Penalties 4
6 Penalty Minutes 8

Game Information

Scotiabank Arena

Location: Toronto, ON
Attendance: 18,934 | Capacity:

2024-25 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 14 5 28 0
New Jersey 13 7 28 2
Washington 13 5 27 1
NY Rangers 12 5 25 1
NY Islanders 7 8 19 5
Columbus 8 9 18 2
Philadelphia 8 10 18 2
Pittsburgh 7 11 18 4

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 12 6 26 2
Florida 12 7 25 1
Tampa Bay 10 6 22 2
Buffalo 10 9 21 1
Boston 9 9 21 3
Detroit 8 9 18 2
Ottawa 8 10 17 1
Montreal 7 10 16 2
Full Standings