The Pittsburgh Penguins had a few days off to prepare for their Hockey Night in Canada matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite scoring first, they fell behind 3-1 en route to a 4-2 defeat, dropping them to 1-2-0 on the season.
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Rookie Joel Blomqvist started for the second consecutive game, and the Penguins also scored on the power play for the first time in back-to-back games this year. The team hopes to improve upon last season’s 30th ranking.
Here are a few takeaways from Saturday night’s loss in Toronto.
Blomqvist Torched by Elite NHL Snipers
Much to everyone’s surprise, Blomqvist got the nod over incumbent Tristan Jarry to face one of the NHL’s most potent offenses, led by 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews. Although last year’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy didn’t light the lamp, his linemates did, including two from two-time 40-goal scorer William Nylander.
Blomqvist only got beat clean by Mitch Marner, a former 99-point scorer with the skill set to put the puck in as little space as possible. Other than that snipe, the Penguins goalie was forced to defend a 3-on-0 and beaten by Nylander for his first tally.
Related: Blomqvist Becomes Second Finnish Goalie To Start A Game For Penguins
Outside the goals, Blomqvist stood tall and finished the evening with 29 saves, still boasting a .906 SV%, his second consecutive outing with those SV% totals. Whether head coach Mike Sullivan wanted to test the Finnish netminder by tossing him in the deep end of the pool or not, he responded with a solid effort despite three goals against.
Malkin Still Does Malkin Things
Last season, Evgeni Malkin collected 67 points and led the team in penalty minutes with 70. As one of the most passionate players who play on an edge, Malkin was directly responsible for the 3-on-0 that led to the Maple Leaf’s first goal of the contest.
In the neutral zone, the Penguins forward had his stick slashed out of his hands. Instead of retrieving it like any other player would, Malkin opted to continue to skate with his hands held high, looking for a penalty call that was not coming.
After seconds of not getting his way, Malkin turned his back on the play, which resulted in a turnover near center ice that sprang Max Domi, Matthew Knies, and Nylander in on the Penguins netminder alone. The result was a tie game at 1-1 just 50 seconds into the middle period.