In a game heard live on Beaver County Radio…from Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto, Canada:

Penguins 3.

Maple Leafs 0.

Pittsburgh Goals: Malkin (2) and Letang..

In goal, Matt Murray had 38 saves in registering the shutout.

TORONTO (AP) — Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins slowed down Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Murray made 38 saves for his first shutout of the season and Pittsburgh snapped Toronto’s winning streak at five games with a stifling 3-0 victory Thursday night.
Evgeni Malkin had two goals and an assist, scoring early and adding an empty-net goal. Kris Letang also had an empty-netter, and Sidney Crosby picked up an assist to tie Darryl Sittler for 60th on the NHL’s career points list with 1,221.
“It’s the best game this season so far for us,” Malkin said. “We played three periods against Matthews, (John) Tavares. We did a great job.”
Matthews, the NHL in scoring with 16 points on 10 goals and six assists, was looking to become the third player in NHL to start a season with eight consecutive multi-point games.
“We had a hard time getting on the inside,” Matthews said. “There are a lot of things that we can improve on. It seems like they were just calm, cool, collected. They didn’t run around, they just played smart and didn’t force anything.”
The Maple Leafs came in averaging an NHL-high 4.71 goals.
“They have a lot of offensive weapons,” Crosby said. “We did a great job of limiting their chances. They’re going to get them, they’re a pretty highly-skilled group, but we didn’t give them any freebies.”
Murray returned from a concussion that sidelined him for three games. He has seven career shutouts.
“We played really solid all the way through and battled hard,” Murray said. “That’s a crazy, dynamic team over there and we were able to hold them off pretty well.”
Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots for Toronto. He was back in goal after sitting out a victory over Los Angeles on Monday night because of a minor knee injury.
“All victories, you’ve got to earn,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “It was right there for us to find another step and get better and find a way to get on the inside a little more, and they did a good job and kept us from doing that. There’s a lesson learned in that. “They’re a more veteran, polished playoff team than we are and it showed.”
Malkin opened the scoring midway through the first period, six seconds after the Maple Leafs were penalized for too many men on the ice. Crosby won the draw and the puck found its way down low to Malkin, who fired a low shot that beat Andersen through the pads.
Notes: Mario Lemieux (1992-93) holds the NHL record for consecutive multi-point games to start a season with 12, while Kevin Stevens, his linemate that season, did it eight times. … Pittsburgh improved to 3-1-2, and Toronto dropped to 6-2-0.

Click the play button below to hear a recap of the game on the Penguins Radio Network…

UP NEXT
Penguins: At Edmonton on Tuesday night.
Maple Leafs: Host St. Louis on Saturday night.
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End of Second Period from Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto, Canada:

Penguins 1.

Maple Leafs 0.

Byron, Drouin lead Canadiens past Penguins in shootout

MONTREAL (AP) — Antti Niemi felt good after his first start of the season — and a win.
Niemi made 25 saves, and Paul Byron and Jonathan Drouin scored in the shootout to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Niemi, getting the start with Carey Price out with the flu, also stopped both shots in the shootout — on Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
“It was a tough first half, didn’t see many pucks and I gave up a few goals,” Niemi said. “Not what you normally want to see. In the third, I started seeing a few more pucks and I was feeling good.
“I have to be really happy with my night.”
With the score tied 3-3, the Canadiens’ goalie made 14 stops in the third period and another three in a frantic overtime period that saw Montreal fail to score on a 4-on-3 power play.
After Byron scored first in the shootout for Montreal, Niemi forced Malkin to the outside and completely took away his shooting angle. Following Drouin’s goal, Crosby needed to score to send it to a third round but the Penguins’ captain found Niemi’s glove instead.
“Stay with them, get a good gap and go from there,” Niemi said of his shootout saves. “Nothing special.”
Tomas Tatar had two goals and an assist, and Brendan Gallagher had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens.
Dominik Simon, Kris Letang and Phil Kessel scored in regulation for the Penguins, and Casey DeSmith had 37 saves through overtime.
Making the 13th start of his NHL career, the 27-year-old DeSmith made big saves when it mattered most to help Pittsburgh earn a point.
With seven minutes left in the game, DeSmith robbed Artturi Lehkonen twice to keep the teams tied. In overtime, DeSmith frustrated Max Domi from in close.
“That was wild,” said DeSmith, who made 35 saves in a 4-2 win over Vegas on Thursday. “Really exciting game for the fans. Happy we got a point but I hate losing as much as everyone else. I was seeing the puck really well tonight. Happy with how my game’s progressing.”
Added Penguins coach Mike Sullivan of his goalie: “I thought he was terrific.”
Montreal also defeated Pittsburgh 5-1 last Saturday.
Simon and Letang scored in the first period to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Daniel Sprong fed Simon in front of the goal with a one-handed scoop pass and the 24-year-old beat Niemi on the backhand at 3:13. Letang doubled Pittsburgh’s lead with 4:44 left with a shot on Niemi’s blocker side.
The Canadiens came out buzzing in the second period, scoring three straight goals before Kessel tied it again. Montreal outshot Pittsburgh 19-4 in the second.
Just 11 seconds into the middle period, Tatar beat Letang to a loose puck in front of the net, then fired past DeSmith for his first in a Canadiens uniform.
Gallagher tied it 2-2 at 7:38 after jumping on a rebound of Jeff Petry’s point shot.
Tatar got his second of the game, on the power play, by firing the puck off DeSmith and in from the side of the net at 8:51 to push Montreal ahead.
“We knew we weren’t good enough in the first and we talked about how we needed to be better,” said Tatar, who joined Montreal in the offseason trade that sent former captain Max Pacioretty to Vegas. “We got a pretty good jump at the start of the second period.
“Everyone played well in the second period and we had a lot of pressure. We all deserve the credit.”
With the Penguins on a man advantage, Kessel made it 3-3 from the slot at 11:14.
Montreal failed to score on a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:49 to end the second period.
It looked like the Canadiens had taken a 4-3 lead in the third period when defenseman Victor Mete put the puck past DeSmith, but the goal was called back for goaltender interference on Andrew Shaw after a challenge by Sullivan.
NOTES: Montreal also had a goal overturned in its previous, also due to goalie interference against Shaw, in its 3-0 loss to Los Angeles. … Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz left the game in the first period and did not return. Schultz’s leg folded awkwardly as fell to the ice after taking a hit by Tomas Plekanec, who was making his 999th career start.

Click the play button below to hear a recap of the game from the Penguins Radio Network…

 

UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Canadiens: Host Detroit on Monday night.
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More AP NHL: www.apnews.com/tag/NHL and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports