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.

The Leafs turned the tables at the start of the second. They had the Penguins hemmed in their zone until Matthew Knies tied the score 5:36 into the period.

Prior to that goal, Jeff Carter and the fourth line got stuck on the ice for nearly two minutes of ice time. They got a quick breather when they iced the puck, but Carter lost a faceoff and then was unable to tie up Knies in front of Nedeljkovic. That was one of a bunch of battles the Penguins lost during that poor stretch.

Nedeljkovic, making his ninth start in a row, came up large later in that period. Twice he stopped Leafs star Mitch Marner on breakaways, one shorthanded.

The two teams were tied going into the final frame, in part because Pittsburgh were 0 for 5 on the power play Monday night. Bryan Rust got another good look on their fifth one but Rust couldn’t tuck the puck past a sprawling Samsonov.

Ice chips

• Sidney Crosby took a beating in the second period. Jake McCabe knocked him into the Toronto net. Crosby got up slowly and tried not to put weight on his right leg as he skated off. Next shift, he got hit in the face with the puck — maybe a stick, too. On the shift after that, he accidentally got run over by Matthews.

• Kris Letang for the second time in a week did not participate in a morning skate due to what coach Mike Sullivan described as “maintenance.” The defenseman was in the lineup Monday but could be playing through an undisclosed injury.

• Ryan Shea also missed the skate due to an immigration issue that had him stranded at the Canadian border outside Buffalo. The blue-liner was able to get that resolved and navigated the solar eclipse to make it to Toronto in time for the game. Shea resumed his spot on the third pair next to rookie Jack St. Ivany.

• The Penguins again scratched Sam Poulin and John Ludvig. They were also still without Ryan Graves, who has now missed six games with a concussion.

• Noel Acciari, placed on injured reserve March 26, joined the team on this trip and partook in an individual workout after their morning skate. The center is not eligible to return during the regular season but he can suit up for the playoffs.

• Crosby was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week for this past week. He had five goals and an assist while leading the Penguins to four straight wins.

Stat n’at

5– power-play goals for the Penguins in their last 18 games, going 5 for 50.

Coming up

The Penguins have a scheduled off day Tuesday and will practice Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s big game against the Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.

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