Penguins' four-game win streak snapped in overtime against Maple Leafs

TORONTO — The Penguins lost, 3-2, in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. That snapped their four-game win streak.

Jake McCabe got the winner with 3:30 left in OT and tired Penguins on the ice.

The Leafs took their first lead, 2-1, early in the third period, after Erik Karlsson went to the penalty box for tripping. They won the ensuing faceoff and Auston Matthews blew a slapper by Alex Nedeljkovic, who was screened on the play.

The Scotiabank Arena crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” after he scored his 65th.

But the suddenly resilient Penguins came up with a clutch goal again. This time, it was Drew O’Connor who got it, banging home a loose puck in the blue paint with 6:22 left in regulation to help the visitors secure a point in the standings.

With the overtime loss, the Penguins remained outside of playoff position.

The Penguins entered Monday in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The Detroit Red Wings won Sunday to hop back ahead of them in the standings. The Red Wings will visit PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.

Monday in Toronto, the Penguins got off to another strong start. They were all over the Leafs right away in puck pursuit, making them labor to just get the puck outside of their end. Toronto’s first shot didn’t come until the seventh minute.

Evgeni Malkin’s line and two threatening power plays helped the Penguins build more momentum. Rickard Rakell gave them a 1-0 lead late in the first period.

Michael Bunting, playing back in his hometown, flustered Leafs blue-liner Ilya Lyubushkin into a giveaway then parked himself in front of Ilya Samsonov. The goalie didn’t get a good look at Rakell’s spinning wrister from the faceoff dot.

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