SHOCKER: Maple Leafs crush Penguins for biggest win of season

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Expect the unexpected.

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For the Maple Leafs, those were words to live by on Saturday night.

Amid speculation about the future of coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving, the Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2 at PPG Paints Arena.

The Leafs are tied (on points) for 14th place in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers, who host Toronto on Tuesday.

Not lost in the Leafs' goal tally – setting their season high with a 7-4 win over Nashville on Oct. 14 – was the performance of goaltender Dennis Hildeby. He was accurate from start to finish, making 33 saves.

The Leafs improved to 3-7-0 on the road but lost defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He did not play the final 15 minutes of the third period with an upper-body injury, although Berube told media in Pittsburgh he hoped the veteran would be OK.

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The Leafs were opportunistic and continued to experience defensive hiccups (shots on goal at five-on-five were 28-16 in Pittsburgh's favor), but they also played with more urgency and confidence than usual.

It was a gutsy, life-saving victory after Friday's 4-2 loss to the Capitals in Washington.

“It's confidence,” Berube said. – The Leafs players will feel good, and that's good. We just need to build on this. We must continue to get better. I liked the way we moved the puck.”

William Nylander returned to action after being sidelined by illness in Washington and smartly set up Easton Cowan for a first-period goal.

Three takeaways from the win, the Leafs' first in regulation since Nov. 5, which evened Toronto's record at 11-11-3:

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VINTAGE MATTHEWS

It was one shot, but he spoke loudly.

There just isn't much this season.

The rise, quick release and accuracy of Max Domi's pass completely deceived Jarry.

Matthews has made his living off those shots since he scored four goals in his NHL debut in October 2016 in Ottawa against the Senators.

Hey, we're not kidding ourselves here. A lot of things have to go right, a lot of improvements have to happen on the Leafs' part so they can escape their struggles and seriously compete for a playoff spot.

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Now we cannot say that this will happen. The odds are improving, however, as a healthy, old-school Matthews leads Toronto.

He wasn't good in his first two games back from his lower-body injury, but when he hit Jarry with such intensity, he showed what he can do.

Domi, meanwhile, has taken some leaps after getting scratched healthy in Washington. He also set up Nicholas Roy for a rare Leafs power play goal in the second period. Whether Domi, now with eight points in 24 games, can turn that into something more is not guaranteed.

Domi refused to comment on whether he was scratched.

““I’m not going to answer anything about that,” Domi said. “It’s behind us now.”

THIRD LINE – CHARM

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Of course, Joshua didn't set the bar high for himself and showed great performance on Wednesday in Columbus.

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Joshua not only scored for the first time since Oct. 25 against Buffalo, but he led the Leafs with seven shots and tied the game with Brian Rust late in the second period with a burst of speed. Joshua's biggest hit of the night came when he hit Penguins defenseman Matthew Dumba with an open-ice shot after Ekman-Larsson (on a nine-game hitting streak) had made it 1-0 early in the first period.

In short, Joshua delivered a physical blow and put the puck into the net. He needs to find a way to bring those elements in more often. That's why the Leafs acquired him.

“I feel good that there is finally a game like this and I need to continue it now,” Joshua said.It's about making an impact in any way possible. Try to be involved in all the activities on the ice. The situation is not ideal at the moment, so achieving this result means a lot.”

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McMann and Roy were two of seven Leafs to score two points on the night.

One of the many reasons the Leafs have a big fight to regain respectability is the lack of a strong third line.

The trio of Roy, McMann and Joshua now have a solid starting point from which to achieve something greater.

“That line was good,” Berube said. “Big, thick line, they played well on the forecheck, had pucks down low and scored two goals on us.”

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THE BEAST WITHIN

Hildeby got a nice cushion as the Leafs led 5-1 through two periods, including a 3-0 win over the Penguins in the second period. This was a big deal as the Leafs entered the game with a minus-11 goal differential, the second-third worst mark in the NHL.

Joseph Wall's consistently good play has made it much easier to understand that there is no sign that Anthony Stolarz will return anytime soon from his upper-body injury. It's not like Stolarz was playing well before he got hurt on November 11th.

So here's Hildeby, who turned in a strong performance in his first start since November 13th. He kept the Penguins at bay all game and didn't wilt after Ben Kindel fired the puck past him to make it 1-1. By the time Sidney Crosby scored in the third period, Toronto had a four-goal lead.

The worst-case scenario for the Leafs is an injury to Wall, and frankly, we hate to even mention that possibility. However, given Wall's past injury history, it's something to keep in mind.

The Leafs needed to know that Hildeby could get a good goalie, and they did. You need a goalkeeper to fix some problems in the defensive zone and Hildeby did that on Saturday.

Treliving has a lot on his to-do list regarding how to make the Leafs better. There is no need to purchase a backup goalkeeper at this time.

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