Leafs survive Pittsburgh rally in 4-3 win

In Toronto Saturday, the Maple Leafs’ Frederik Andersen made 33 saves to help the Leafs hold off the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-3 win.

Tyler Bozak struck twice for the Leafs who had a 3-0 lead before the Pens rallied to cut it to 3-2 on goals from  Riley Sheahan and Evgeni Malkin.

“We were opportunistic in the first period,” Andersen said. “Not as experienced of a goalie [Jarry] down there, so we wanted to make sure he saw a lot of pucks and go to the net.”

But Bozak made it 4-2 late in the middle frame to give the Leafs some breathing room.

“It hasn’t been going too well, just points-wise for our line,” Bozak said. “I think we’ve been getting chances as of late, but it just hasn’t been going in. So it’s nice to contribute and be part of a big win for us.”

The Pens lost their third straight and dropped to 16-12-3 on the season.

“We just weren’t good enough and it was the difference in the outcome,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I mean, we can’t keep chasing games the way we’re chasing them, and when you play good teams you can’t spot them a three-goal lead. When you give up a couple of goals so early in a game, it’s a head-scratcher for me.

“I’m not sure I understand why, but that’s something that we as a group have to solve if we’re going to become the team we want to be.”

James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown also scored for Toronto who improved to 19-10-1.

“I think we just came out strong. This is a really good team. Whenever you come to this building, you expect a challenge. I think that the guys were just ready to go and obviously created some offensive opportunities, and made them count,” the Leafs Morgan Rielly said after the win.

Bozak had an assist in the win.

“Real good for [Bozak],” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “Things haven’t gone as well for him this year and confidence is always hard. … Worked real hard. Competed real hard.”

Sidney Crosby scored late in the third period to make the last 2:48 of the game a little more intense.

“We’ve got to come out with the mentality to dictate the pace,” Crosby said. “We can’t come out seeing what kind of game it’s going to be and before we know it, we’re down two or 3-0.”

[WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Penguins highlights]

Tristan Jarry got the start for Pittsburgh and was given the hook after yielding the 3-0 lead to Toronto on 16 shots.

“It’s, again, a slow start. Like, we’re not ready to play the first 10 minutes, but [we can’t] win the game if we only play like two periods. We need to play harder,” Malkin said after the loss.

Casey DeSmith relieved Jarry after the first intermission and played solid with eight saves and one goal against.

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