The Penguins had lost 3 of their last 4 games, and despite some good effort made by the team, what they needed was a win to hold on to their 4th place rank in the eastern conference.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, on the other hand, have been on a hot streak of late. Though still sitting in last place in the east, the infusion of energy by youngsters like Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, the Leafs have won 4 out of their last 5 games.
The showdown in Toronto was not short of excitement, with no period idle. In the first, Colton Orr delivered a wristshot into the net, less than 5 minutes into play. Tyler Kennedy tallied up the score for the Pens halfway through the period.
Phil Kessel responded early in the second, but Toronto's lead was short lived. Within the span of 5 minutes, Pens captain Sidney Crosby scored back-to-back goals, assisted by Brooks Orpik. The goals couldn't have come at a better time, as Crosby hadn't scored in 7 previous games.
However, Toronto did not give up and pushed on to score another goal late in the second.
The third period saw goals by the Leafs' Tyler Bozak and the Pens' Matt Cooke. By the end of regulation, the scoreboard was sitting at 4-4, and it remained that way through overtime.
Leave it to the Kid to come through during a shootout.
Sid, along with Ruslan Fedotenko, snuck the pucks past J.S. Giguerre, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all of Toronto's shootout attempts.
Brooks Orpik, who expressed his frustration after losing two straight games to Washington and Detroit, was able to calm himself after his two assists, and Crosby's 3-goal night pushed him past Alexander Ovechkin for leading scorer in the league.
Crosby now holds 47 goals under his belt, to Ovechkin's 45, making him the current top contender for the Rocket Richard trophy.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Toronto Maple Leafs, March 28 2010
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