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, they were words to live by on Saturday night.

With speculation swirling regarding the futures of coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving, the Leafs beat up on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena by a 7-2 score.

The Leafs pulled into a tie (in points) for 14th in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers, who will play host to Toronto on Tuesday.

Not lost in the Leafs’ goal barrage — tying their season high from a 7-4 win against Nashville on Oct. 14 — was the play of goalie Dennis Hildeby. He was sharp from start to finish, making 33 saves.

The Leafs improved to 3-7-0 on the road but lost defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the process. He didn’t play in the final 15 minutes of the third period after suffering an upper-body injury, though Berube told media in Pittsburgh he is hopeful the veteran will be fine.

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

It was a gutsy, redemptive victory following a 4-2 loss on Friday in Washington against the Capitals.

“It’s confidence,” Berube said. “(The Leafs players are) going to feel good about themselves and that’s good. We just have to build off it. We have to keep getting better. I liked the way we moved the puck better.”

William Nylander was back in action after sickness kept him out in Washington and had a smart set-up to Easton Cowan for a goal in the first period.

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

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VINTAGE MATTHEWS

It was one shot, but it spoke loudly.

Just not as much this season.

The curl, quick release and accuracy, off a drop pass from Max Domi, completely fooled Jarry.

Matthews has made a living off that kind of shot 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 has to go right, a lot of improvement has to come from the Leafs in order for them to escape their struggles and make a serious run at a playoff spot.

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We can’t say now that it’s going to happen. The chance improves, though, with a healthy and old-school Matthews leading the way for Toronto.

He had not been great in his first couple of games back from a lower-body injury, but when he scored on Jarry with that kind of assertiveness, he demonstrated what is possible.

Domi, meanwhile, had some jump after he was healthy scratch in Washington. He also set up Nicolas Roy for a rare Leafs power-play goal in the second period. Whether Domi, now with eight points in 24 games, can turn it into something more isn’t guaranteed.

Domi refused to comment on being scratched.

“Not going to answer anything about that,” Domi said. “That’s behind us now.”

THIRD LINE’S A CHARM

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Certainly, Joshua hadn’t set the bar high for himself and was a healthy scratch on Wednesday in Columbus.

Not only did the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Joshua score for the first time since Oct. 25 against Buffalo, he led the Leafs with seven hits and with a burst of speed drew a holding minor on Bryan Rust late in the second period. Joshua’s biggest hit of the night came when he nailed Penguins defenceman Mathew Dumba with an open-ice hit after Ekman-Larsson (running his point streak to nine games) made it 1-0 early in the first period.

In short, Joshua made a physical impact and put the puck in the net. He has to find a way to bring those elements more often. It’s why the Leafs acquired him.

“To finally have a game like that feels nice, and I have to keep it going now,” Joshua said. “It’s (about) making an impact in anyway possible. Try to be involved all over on the ice. It has been not ideal to this point, so to get that result means a lot.”

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McMann and Roy were two of the seven Leafs who recorded two points on the night.

One of the many reasons why the Leafs are in a big fight to regain respectability has been the lack of a strong third line.

The trio of Roy between McMann and Joshua now have a solid starting point to achieve something more.

“That line was good,” Berube said. “Big, heavy line, they were good on the forecheck, they possessed pucks down low and they got two goals for us.”

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THE BEAST WITHIN

Hildeby was provided a nice cushion as the Leafs built a 5-1 lead through two periods, including outscoring the Penguins 3-0 in the second period. That was large, as the Leafs entered the game with a minus-11 goal differential in the second, the third-worst mark in the NHL.

With his consistently good play, Joseph Woll has made it a lot easier to digest that there are no signs that Anthony Stolarz will return any time soon from an upper-body injury. Not that Stolarz was playing well before he got hurt on Nov. 11.

So here was Hildeby, who put in an excellent performance in his first start since Nov. 13. He kept the Penguins at bay throughout the game and didn’t wilt after Ben Kindel batted 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.

A worst-case scenario for the Leafs is that Woll gets injured and to be honest, we hate to even mention that possibility. With Woll’s injury past, though, it must be kept in mind.

The Leafs have to know they can get good goaltending from Hildeby, and they have been. You need your netminder to clean up some defensive-zone woes, and Hildeby did that on Saturday.

Treliving has plenty on his to-do list in terms of trying to make the Leafs better. Acquiring a backup goalie, for now, is not necessary.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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