TORONTO -- If we're being honest, the Penguins have been guilty of winning some games that maybe they didn't deserve.
Well, can't say that was the case Saturday night.
Hockey usually rewards possession and shot attempts, so they probably deserved a better fate than their 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, and not just because of Brian Dumoulin's non-goal on a controversial goalie interference. They also had more shots than Toronto, 40-26, and more attempts, 57-38, in addition to spending 62 percent of the game with the puck.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOThe only place where the Leafs held an edge -- and it was a sizable one -- was the only one that counts.
"I think we shot the puck a lot, I think we played a lot outside," Olli Maatta was telling me. "But we have to have more grit on in our game."
Toronto took a 4-0 lead after two periods to chase Tristan Jarry from net. But no matter how potent the Penguins are offensively, that lead proved insurmountable. Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist added goals but it was too little, too late for the Penguins, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and missed on a chance to overtake the Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
"They got a couple of quality chances and they finished," Mike Sullivan said. "They were opportunistic early in the game. I thought we had a good start. We were controlling territorially. We were controlling momentum. I don't think we did as good a job the first couple goals that they got. I don't think we made them work hard for them, and that's on us. We've got to take ownership of that. I know our guys are capable of making it more difficult.
"But there was a lot of good things that went on out there as well. We had opportunities to score. We couldn't seem to finish tonight. We pushed at the end, but obviously a four-goal deficit is tough."
The Penguins will not have long to dwell on this loss as they host the Stars at PPG Paints Arena less than 24 hours later.
1. Jarry deserved a better fate.
The 22-year-old goalie allowed three goals on Toronto's first nine shots -- and four on 16 -- but that is more than a little misleading. Actually a lot misleading.
Jarry had been outstanding during the recently-concluded three-game win streak, but was merely OK on Saturday. He did make this fine pad save on Travis Demott early in the second period:
But by then the damage was already done.
Not that Jarry was much at fault on Kasperi Kapanen's opening goal at 9:10 of the first. Riley Sheahan turned the puck over at the blue line then failed to pick up Kapanen who had a tap-in thanks to Tyler Bozak's centering pass.
Jarry certainly wasn't to blame for Nazem Kadri's first goal, a gorgeous deflection of a Morgan Rielly shot that was well wide of the net. However, Kadri's second goal of the game at 11:35 of the second, which proved to be the game-winner, was just a bad rebound given up by Jarry:
Following the goalie interference penalty on Dumoulin, Jarry then allowed Mitch Marner's power play marker with 2:04 remaining in the second period. That was the last shot he faced as he was replaced by Casey DeSmith at the start of the third period. DeSmith stopped all nine shots he faced.
It appears Sullivan turned to DeSmith only to get him some game action after not playing since March 1 in Boston, when he gave up three goals on five shots in just 5:27.
Jarry is still almost certain to be the No. 2 goalie to Matt Murray whenever he returns from his concussion, but DeSmith would seem probable to get the start tonight against the Stars in the second game of a back-to-back.
2. Special teams let the Penguins down.
Think we can dispel the narrative that the refs are hiding their whistles.
For the sixth game in a row, the Penguins had two or more power play opportunities after a stretch of four games prior to that where they had one or fewer.
The Penguins were handed three power play opportunities in the opening 22:01 on Saturday but failed to score on each after putting up just three shots on goal.
"I didn't think our power play was sharp early in the game when we had a few opportunities," Sullivan said. "This was one of the few games where our power play had a few opportunities earlier in the game and I don't think we executed as well as we're capable."
Over the past six games, the NHL's top-ranked power play has gone just 2-for-17.
3. Josh Jooris wasn't bad.
The new fourth-line centerman -- at least for now -- did fine in his Penguins debut. He played 9:43, had one shot on goal and seemed to have decent chemistry with linemates Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney.
Though his Corsi For percentage in all situations was a pedestrian 37.5, the fourth line did have a really nice shift midway through the first period when they had extended time in the Leafs zone.
"I think we did OK," Jooris told me. "It was a bit of a track meet, a lot of skating back and forth. But I thought we did OK. We had some good zone time, not much in our zone."
What the future holds for Jooris remains to be seen. The Penguins will certainly welcome back Bryan Rust, who missed his first game with a concussion, and Zach Aston-Reese, who missed his sixth with a lower body injury.
4. But if I were Jooris, I wouldn't buy a house yet.
There is decent logic to having Sheahan playing on Derick Brassard's left wing -- mainly because no one's really available -- but Sheahan is best at center.
The Penguins are best with Sheahan at center.
The acquisition of Brassard gives them unmatched depth down the middle with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Brassard and Sheahan. It also allows Sullivan to roll four lines fairly consistently.
But watch the Kapanen goal below and you see the miscommunication between Brassard and Sheahan:
Sheahan's turnover started the sequence in motion and Brassard, the center, doesn't even show up in the view until after Kapanen has scored. That's not good.
5. Malkin is mortal after all.
The Russian had the primary assist on Hornqvist's goal with 2:28 left in the game that pulled the Penguins to within 4-2. But that was the lone highlight for Malkin, who extended his points streak to five games.
He was very inconsistent, playing perhaps his worst game -- at least by his otherworldly standards -- since the start of the new year. Malkin had just two shots and three of his team's nine giveaways.
Given all that he's done in the past two months or so, he deserves a pass.