The Pittsburgh Penguins were prepared for a shootout that did not happen on Thursday night, yet they still came away victorious. Matt Murray stopped 38 shots to lead the Penguins to an impressive 3-0 shutout of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Murray got the top star after recording his first shutout of the season, while also putting an end to the Maple Leafs' five-game winning streak. Toronto had rolled to a 6-1-0 start behind Auston Matthews and their newest star, John Tavares, whom they got in free agency over the summer.
Matthews was looking to become just the third player in NHL history to begin the regular season with eight consecutive multi-point games. He came in to play leading the league in scoring with 16 points, including 10 goals and six assists, as his was averaging a league-leading 4.71 goals per game.
The Penguins were led by Evgeni Malkin's two goals and an assist, including an empty-netter late to seal the road win. Sidney Crosby had an assist on the night, giving him 1,221 career points, which ties him with Darryl Sitter for 60th on the all-time points list. This all supported the returning Murray, who had missed the previous three games with a concussion, but came back to record his seventh career shutout.
Frederik Andersen also returned between the pipes for the Leafs after missing out on Toronto's win over the Los Angeles Kings. He had 36 saves in the loss, but got beat when his team was short-handed in the first. Kris Letang added an empty-net goal for the Penguins, who will visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. The Maple Leafs will stay home to host the St.Louis Blues tomorrow night.
Matthews was looking to become just the third player in NHL history to begin the regular season with eight consecutive multi-point games. He came in to play leading the league in scoring with 16 points, including 10 goals and six assists, as his was averaging a league-leading 4.71 goals per game.
The Penguins were led by Evgeni Malkin's two goals and an assist, including an empty-netter late to seal the road win. Sidney Crosby had an assist on the night, giving him 1,221 career points, which ties him with Darryl Sitter for 60th on the all-time points list. This all supported the returning Murray, who had missed the previous three games with a concussion, but came back to record his seventh career shutout.
Frederik Andersen also returned between the pipes for the Leafs after missing out on Toronto's win over the Los Angeles Kings. He had 36 saves in the loss, but got beat when his team was short-handed in the first. Kris Letang added an empty-net goal for the Penguins, who will visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. The Maple Leafs will stay home to host the St.Louis Blues tomorrow night.
