Clarke MacArthur scored the lone goal of the game with under seven minutes to go and the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped the Penguins’ eight game winning streak.
After a memorable, end to end, game that witnessed eight goals -including a game-tying goal with under 10 seconds to play- the Penguins and Leafs were deadlocked in a 0-0 tie for most of the night.
The Leafs held the Kunitz-Malkin-Neal line in check and eventually cashed in on one of the few chances each team had in the game.
James Neal had the best scoring chance for Pittsburgh when he deflected a Brooks Orpik slapshot off the cross bar late in the game. The Leafs countered, seconds later, and Clarke MacArthur scored his 7th goal in 20 career games against the Penguins.
MacArthur took a cross-ice pass off his skate from Mikhail Grabovski, went wide on goaltender Brent Johnson, and back-handed the puck into the net. For Johnson, it was the only goal he surrendered in an otherwise stellar performance after not starting since January 10th. Johnson was pulled in his last start after surrendering 3 goals on 8 shots against the Ottawa Senators.
Coming into this game, Johnson had only started in 9 games and has endured a nightmarish season with a 2-5-2 record and .876 save percentage. Despite the loss, the backup goaltender was stellar which should lead to more starts that will leave Marc-Andre Fleury more time to rest for the playoffs. His next opportunity will likely be against the New Jersey Devils this Sunday as the Penguins play the defending Stanley Cup champion, Boston Bruins, the night before.
As good as Johnson was, James Reimer was slightly better.
Maple Leafs’ coach, Ron Wilson, elected to start Reimer over Gustavsson and it led to a victory. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that the Leafs limited Pittsburgh to 25 shots, the fewest since Pittsburgh’s 4-2 win over Minnesota on October 18th.
The Penguins will continue their four game road trip against Boston on Saturday, before playing New Jersey Sunday, and Montreal on Tuesday. The Penguins could get Jordan Staal back by then, but will probably be waiting on Sidney Crosby to make his return. The Penguins will play their final game of the season against the Maple Leafs on March 7th, the same date Mario Lemieux’s statue will be unveiled at the Consol Energy Center.
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