TORONTO — In an exciting home opener on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 4-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mitch Marner contributed significantly with one goal and one assist, while William Nylander netted two goals, one being an empty-netter. Additionally, Matthew Knies marked his presence on the scoreboard, and Max Domi assisted two plays. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves throughout the match.

This game also marked the home debut of Toronto’s coach Craig Berube, who joined the team in May. The Maple Leafs entered this game after having split their opening two matches of the season on the road.

For the Penguins, Kris Letang and Rickard Rakell found the back of the net. Joel Blomqvist, in his second NHL start, managed to stop 29 shots after achieving his first win against Detroit earlier in the week. Veteran player Evgeni Malkin tallied two assists, bringing his career total to an impressive 1,300 points.

Notably absent from the lineup was Leafs center John Tavares, who was sidelined due to illness. Despite struggling on the power play, with an 0 for 9 record so far this season, Toronto extended its remarkable home opener streak, improving to 9-0-0 in their last nine such games.

Takeaways from the game highlighted the long-awaited scoring breakthrough from Maple Leafs star Nylander, who tied the game at 1 in the second period after an initial slow start alongside teammates Auston Matthews and Marner, all of whom went without points in the first two games of the season.

For the Penguins, their challenges were evident as they failed to capitalize on three power-play situations following Letang’s early goal.

A key turning point occurred in the second period when Pittsburgh held a 1-0 lead. A poor line change and subsequent turnover led to a 2-on-0 rush, allowing Domi to assist Nylander in scoring his first goal of the season.

Another significant moment came as Sidney Crosby assisted on Letang’s goal, making history as the tenth player in NHL history to accumulate a combined total of 1,800 points from regular-season and playoff games.

Looking ahead, the Maple Leafs will host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday as part of a four-game homestand. The Penguins, meanwhile, will conclude their three-game trip against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.