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Maple Leafs spoil Penguins' home opener, 5-2
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Fans cheer on the Penguins during the first period Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center. -
Penguins teammates congratulate Evgeni Malkin on his goal against Toronto in the first period Wednesday night at Consol Energy Center.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs spoiled the Penguins' home opener, 5-2, tonight.
The largest hockey crowd in Consol Energy Center history, 18,641, watched.
The Penguins got the only goal of the first period.
The Maple Leafs' Mike Komisarek got penalized for cross-checking the Penguins' Joe Vitale, and Evgeni Malkin scored on the resulting power play.
Malkin, from just below the right circle, one-timed a pass from Sidney Crosby, who was at the top of that circle. The puck bounced in off of the equipment of Toronto goaltender James Reimer for a 1-0 lead at 18:51 of the first period.
It was the first goal this season for Malkin, the defending NHL scoring champion and MVP.
The other happening of note in the first period was a long heavyweight fight between the Penguins' Deryk Engelland and Toronto's Colton Orr.
The Maple Leafs tied it, 1-1, when Clarke MacArthur tipped the puck in from just above the crease at 3:09 of the second period. That gave MacArthur points in seven games in a row against the Penguins.
James Van Riemsdyk gave the Toronto a 2-1 lead at 6:48 of the second period by sweeping in a rebound that landed in the crease.
Just 29 seconds later, Sidney Crosby's first goal of the season tied it, 2-2, for the Penguins. Crosby blocked a pass by the Maple Leafs' Dion Phaneuf and took off. He took a crisp pass from Pascal Dupuis for a breakaway and scored from the left hash marks. That gave Crosby at least one point in seven games in a row against Toronto.
The Penguins then withstood 5:03 shorthanded, including 57 seconds being down by two men.
Less than a minute after that stretch, Toronto took a 3-2 lead on Van Riemsdyk's second goal. He intercepted a pass by Malkin, who was along the boards in his own end. Van Riemsdyk ripped a shot over the shoulder of Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
Toronto increased its lead to 4-2 at 5:18 of the third period when Mikhail Grabovski whipped a shot from the inner edge of the right circle past Fleury's glove.
The Maple Leafs' Tyler Bozak batted in a rebound to make it 5-2 at 18:59 of the third period while Toronto had a five-on-three power play.
The Penguins, who opened the season with two wins in the road, play Friday in Winnipeg.
First Published January 23, 2013 9:54 pm
