PITTSBURGH — In front of a national Canadian TV audience on Hockey Night in Canada, Pittsburgh Penguins (12-7-5) goalie Arturs Silovs did not make it past the first five minutes of the second period. The netminder had an eminently forgettable game, or at least one he needs to forget, allowing four goals on nine shots, including a pair of shots he did not expect.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (11-11-3) claimed a 4-1 second-period lead on Dakota Joshua’s turning wrist shot from the right circle, which fooled Silovs, who didn’t react until after the shot had already slammed off the padding in the back of the net at 4:53.

The large throng of Toronto fans chanted and celebrated as Toronto flexed against the increasingly shaky Penguins, 7-2 at PPG Paints Arena.

Silovs has one win in his last eight starts (1-3-4) and stopped just five of nine shots (later revised to a far more respectable 10), lowering his once top-five save percentage to merely .890 (188 of 211). It was .917 just a few weeks ago.

He was also pulled after just 21 minutes in his last start, Nov. 21, in a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Tristan Jarry relieved Silovs.

Toronto is 8-3-0 in their last 11 games against the Penguins, and it was also they who ended the last vestiges of the Penguins’ contender status with a 7-0 win, also on Hockey Night in Canada, on Dec. 16, 2023.

However, the loss did not rest solely upon the unsteady goalie.

Things started poorly for Silovs and and also the Penguins, as an old friend said hello in the first period. The Penguins held Toronto without a shot for more than six minutes to start the game, but the very first shot on goal became Toronto’s first goal. Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s first shot was blocked, but Penguins winger Bryan Rust lost his coverage on Ekman-Larsson, who pounced on the loose puck in the right circle.

Ekman-Larsson (4) was wide open in a shooting position and did not miss, beating Silovs cleanly from about 15 feet at 6:46.

The Penguins quickly tied the game with a power play goal. Rookie Ben Kindel may have learned a thing or two from captain Sidney Crosby, as Kindel (6) swatted a fluttering puck out of the air in the left circle just 1:28 later at 8:14.

However, the Penguins’ selective defensive zone coverage again broke down less than three minutes later. Easton Cowan was uncovered in the right circle, and Silovs didn’t track William Nylander’s pass to Cowan (3). Silovs focused on Nylander in the slot, so Cowan had feet of net to shoot into behind the unknowing goalie at 11:06.

The second period continued as the first period ended, with the Penguins defending. Bobby McMann took advantage of a botched Penguins exchange following a center ice faceoff. McMann outworked defenseman Ryan Graves to set in motion a sequence that saw McMann (6) deflect Morgan Reilly’s point shot past Silovs at 2:24.

Just over two minutes later, Joshua’s goal chased Silovs, but Toronto wasn’t done.

After Parker Wotherspoon’s roughing minor, the Penguins’ penalty kill broke down following a failed clear, and Nic Roy was unabated to the net for a sharp one-timer at 13:58.

As they had the night before, the Penguins put far too few pucks on net through 40 minutes. The night before, the Penguins had only 15 shots on goal and trailed 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets before rallying for a 4-3 overtime win.

There were no cute heroics Saturday, and the Penguins had only 16 shots on goal while trailing 5-1 after 40 minutes.

Crosby gave the Penguins just the briefest bout of life with a third period goal at 4:37.

Crosby’s assist on Kindel’s first-period power-play goal gave him sole possession of the Penguins’ record for most home points (941), surpassing Mario Lemieux. Crosby’s third period goal gave him sole possession of 15th place on the NHL’s all-time goals list (641), passing Dave Andreychuk.

However, Auston Matthews whipped a shot from the back of the right circle past Jarry at 7:14 to dispel even the faintest notion of an extraordinary comeback.

Toronto’s Nick Robertson (6) swiped the puck from Matt Dumba on a breakout and neatly snapped it shortside on Jarry at 13:16 of the third, padding his stats and hurrying fans to the exits.

Toronto goalie Dennis Hildeby earned his first win of the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots. Jarry stopped 10 of 13.

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Categorized: Penguins Postgame