Penguins defeat Toronto Maple Leafs for 11th Straight win
The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 11th consecutive game with a 5-2 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL) on Wednesday. Sidney Crosby scored two more goals to extend his points tally to 35 in 17 games. Crosby now has 20 goals
and 15 assists during the second-longest point streak of his career, as the Penguins ensured their of the second-longest win streak in franchise history. He has scored eight goals in his last four games.
Pittsburgh still needs to win its next six games to tie the longest streak in its history, set during the 1992-93 season.
Crosby almost got his third goal in four games, trying an inside-out shot to fool goalie Jonas Gustavsson in the opening 30 seconds of the third period, but the puck trickled just inches shy of the goal line.
Mark Letestu snapped a 22-game goal drought with two well-taken goals. Neither of his goals came on the main advantage. Left-winger Chris Kunitz collected three primary assists, while Marc- Andre Fleury had to make 23 stops to ensure victory for his side.
Tyler Bozak scored his fourth goal of the season, while Mikhail Grabovski scored his seventh goal of the season for the Maple Leafs, who have lost five of their last seven games. Goaltender Jonas Gustavsson made 21 saves in the loss to Pittsburgh.
Crosby opened the scoring in the ninth minute with his league-leading 25th goal of the season. Kunitz took the puck in the neutral zone and passed it to Crosby, who instantly hit it back to Kunitz in the Maple Leafs half. Kunitz's shot rebounded off the
post and fell to Crosby, who put tipped the puck past Gustavsson on the second attempt.
In the second period, Pittsburgh scored three times in five minutes to blow the game wide open. The frustrated Maple Leafs only came to life after a series of four fights deep into the second period, but by then it was too late.
In the twelfth minute, Pascal Dupuis finished a 2-on-0 break with a shorthanded goal that beat goaltender Gustavsson, Mark Letestu continued the Pittsburgh's lead to three off a deflection out in front.
Kunitz said after the game "(Dupuis) did a great play on the wall. He made a great play by putting it on his backhand. The goalie slid over a little and left that top area for him to put it in."
With five minutes left in the period, Crosby cleared up a 2-on-1 break with a perfect shot through the legs of Gustavsson, who instantly broke his stick on the post in frustration.
Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said, "The turning point of the game -- they were outscoring us 20 to five or six. I don't think that was the turning point of the game. The turning point of the game was the opening face off."
Third period goals by Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski gave the Leafs reason to hope. Bozak's power play goal five minutes into the third period, while Grabovski's brilliant shot to bring Toronto to within three.
A modest two-game winning streak came to a crashing end largely because the Pittsburgh Penguins are not just better – but far better – than the Toronto Maple Leafs in just about every department. Despite outscoring the Penguins, 15-2, in the third, Maple
Leaf didn't get any closer, and Letestu scored again with less than three minutes left to seal the game for the Penguins.
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