Kadri scores twice as Maple Leafs rout Penguins
Nazem Kadri lit the lamp twice and Frederik Andersen made 38 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Kadri now has 26 goals this season, tied with James van Riemsdyk for second-most on the team. Patrick Marleau (21 goals), Mitchell Marner (19) and Kasperi Kapanen (5) also scored for Toronto, which had been outscored 17-10 during its 0-2-2 skid.
Sidney Crosby (23) and Patric Hornqvist (19) scored for the Penguins while Tristan Jarry allowed four goals on 16 shots, as Pittsburgh had its three-game winning streak halted. Casey DeSmith replaced Jarry and had nine saves.
Toronto and Pittsburgh split their first two meetings this season, with the Maple Leafs winning 4-3 in Pittsburgh on Dec. 9 and the Penguins winning 5-3 at home on Feb. 17.
Josh Jooris went scoreless in his Penguins debut after being acquired in a trade with Carolina on Feb. 26.
Toronto's Nikita Zaitsev missed the game with the flu.
Kapanen got things going for the Maple Leafs, scoring with 10:50 remaining in the first period after a pass from Tyler Bozak off a behind-the-back feed from Josh Leivo.
Kadri's first goal made it 2-0 with 46.4 left in the first as he tipped in Morgan Rielly's shot from the blue line. A power play produced Toronto's second goal, as Kadri sent in a rebound with 8:25 to play in the second.
Marner also scored on a power play, bouncing his shot from the top of the right circle off a Pittsburgh defender with 1:36 to go in the middle period.
Crosby's tally with 3:36 left in the third and Hornqvist's strike 70 seconds later helped the Penguins avoid their first shutout since a 4-0 loss to Carolina on Jan. 4.
Marleau's empty-netter with just under a minute left sealed the result.
Pittsburgh hosts Dallas on Sunday. Toronto also hosts the Stars on Wednesday.
--Field Level Media
