Gardiner bags overtime winner in Leafs' 2-1 over Pittsburgh

TORONTO -- Jake Gardiner scored the overtime winner, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs snap a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Gardiner was set up by Mitch Marner, whose shot just shuffled past Penguins defenceman Derrick Pouliot in front. Nikita Zaitsev also scored for the Leafs, who had dropped their previous four games at home.

Frederik Andersen made 33 saves.

Evgeni Malkin scored the lone goal for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray combined to make 47 saves. Fleury was forced to exit briefly in the first period.

Toronto, which had dropped six of its previous seven games, outshot Pittsburgh 48-34.

The action started rather frantically when Carl Hagelin was hooked on a breakaway attempt by Leafs defenceman Connor Carrick in the opening two minutes. Hagelin was awarded a penalty shot but was stopped by Andersen.

Less than a minute later Fleury was forced to exit following a dangerous play in front of his net.

Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk was tussling with Penguins defenceman Steve Oleksy when van Riemsdyk lost his balance partially, his left skate rising up and catching Fleury under the chin. As the action turned the other way Fleury signalled to the bench and the play was eventually whistled down.

The 32-year-old received treatment on the ice from a team trainer for an apparent cut before heading to the Pittsburgh dressing room. Murray entered in his place, stopping all six shots he faced.

Fleury returned just past the midway point of the period, checking with Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan before he ultimately took his place back in the crease following a TV timeout.

Pittsburgh went up 1-0 just under two minutes later on Malkin's 13th goal of the year. He was set up nicely by defenceman Justin Schultz, who faked a shot from atop the slot before sliding it over to Malkin. The Russian centre whipped a one-time shot from one knee.

It was the 17th goal and 54th point in 32 career games against Toronto for Malkin. Sidney Crosby added an assist on the play. The Penguins captain had a season-long nine-game point streak come to an end Friday in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Leafs evened it up 14 seconds after Malkin's goal on Zaitsev's first in the NHL. The 25-year-old, a free agent signing from Russia last summer, fired a shot from the right point that was batted by Oleksy in front before caroming off Fleury's mask and into the goal.

The Penguins' challenge for goalie interference (van Riemsdyk in front) was denied. Van Riemsdyk picked up his 200th point as a member of the Leafs on the play.

Toronto generated some quality opportunities on a power play a short while later, including a van Riemsdyk attempt from the door-step that was stopped by the left toe of Fleury. Nikita Soshnikov sent a Marner feed from the slot wide moments later.

A furiously-paced second period saw the two teams combine for 29 shots and 53 shot attempts. Pittsburgh and Toronto rank 1-2 in the NHL in shots per game.

The Leafs entered the night with losses in six of seven games (1-3-3), scoring two or less in each of those defeats. Toronto had numerous chances around the Pittsburgh net in the second period but produced nothing tangible.

Nazem Kadri danced around Ian Cole, but was stopped by Fleury. A Zach Hyman attempt off the rush was flubbed and went wide. Opportunities on a pair of power plays also resulted in nothing, including a Tyler Bozak attempt around the net that the 30-year-old centre could not quite corral.

Toronto was 0-4 with the man advantage over 40 minutes, totalling seven shots. The club finished with 20 shots overall in the second, all of which were stopped by Fleury.

The Leafs got themselves in penalty trouble in the third when Matt Hunwick drew a double-minor for high-sticking and Nikita Soshnikov was later whistled for delay of game. The team managed to shut down the Penguins' full two-minute five-on-three advantage with Zaitsev notably blocking a hard Crosby shot.

The home crowd roared in approval after Soshnikov stepped out of the box.

Former Leaf Phil Kessel managed to break free of the defence for a breakaway a short while later, but his stick shattered as he shot and Andersen managed a left pad save. The Penguins lost in overtime on Friday when Kessel's stick broke against the Kings.

Kessel, who was traded to Pittsburgh in the summer of 2015, was booed every time he touched the puck.

The Penguins were playing without two of their top defencemen. Kris Letang and Trevor Daley were both sidelined by injury.