Max Domi scored the winner with 8:25 remaining to snap a 23-game goalless streak and added an assist to end the Toronto Maple Leafs’ three-game slide with a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Domi danced around Pittsburgh newcomer Brett Kulak for the deciding goal, a few hours after Toronto general manager Brad Treliving gave coach Craig Berube a vote of confidence for the second time this season.
“I support Craig fully. When you go through rough stretches, that’s part of the business,” he said. “There isn’t a disconnect. We all need to be better, we all recognize that, but I think we got a really good coach.”
Treliving spoke a day after the club fired assistant coach Marc Savard following two losses in two days over the weekend.
“The players have responsibility, and this doesn’t absolve anybody. This is not [a situation where] we throw somebody out and blame that person,” he said. “It’s a change that we could make to change the dynamic, change maybe a little bit of the play.”
William Nylander scored twice and added two assists, and Matias Maccelli and Steven Lorentz also scored for Toronto. Bobby McMann added an empty-netter to give Toronto its third win this season against the Penguins.
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Bryan Rust, Rutger McGroarty and Anthony Mantha scored for the Penguins, who have lost nine of their past 10.
Nylander scored the icebreaker for his first in 11 games, midway through the first period. But Rust drew the Penguins even 44 seconds later, getting behind Nicolas Roy and Chris Tanev for a successful breakaway.
Tanev returned after a 23-game absence. He was stretchered off the ice after a collision on Nov. 1 in Philadelphia.
Toronto fired 31 shots on goal while the Penguins registered 32, with Joseph Woll picking up his sixth win in 11 starts. Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner has yet to win in three starts, with 12 goals against since being traded by the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 15.
Savard steered the Maple Leafs to the NHL’s worst power play (12 for 90 with four short-handed goals against), and Tuesday, Toronto went 0 for 2 against Pittsburgh. Assistant coach Derek Lalonde has been tasked with fixing the team’s power-play struggles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
