Pittsburgh 2 @ Toronto 3

The Leafs and Penguins took to the ice Thursday morning in the 2nd of their 2 games scheduled this season. Once again, Andrew Raycroft was in net for Toronto and Marc-Andre Fleury was starting for Pittsburgh.

The Leafs skated out to a quick start, Alex Ponikarovsky finished off a mini-breakaway by roofing a forehand over Fleury's shoulder to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. Mats Sundin was sent in all alone on Fleury a little later in the first period and also beat the young goalie on the forehand to give the Leafs a quick 2-0 lead.

Young phenom Sidney Crosby cut the lead in half early in the second, finishing off a nice passing play and beating Raycroft along the ice to make it 2-1. There was no further scoring in the second, although Pittsburgh did put a lot of pressure on the Leafs this period.

The Leafs got a quick insurance goal in the third, Darcy Tucker taking a Mats Sundin pass and one-timing it past Fleury's glove to give the Leafs a 3-1 lead. The Penguins wouldn't go away quietly though, after a flurry of chances in front, one of which was saved by a cross-crease dive by Raycroft, Ronald Petrovicky beat Raycroft five-hole to cut the lead to 1 again at 3-2.

The Leafs were able to batten down the hatches late in the game to preserve the 3-2 win.

SHOTS

Pittsburgh 25
Toronto 19

HITS

Pittsburgh 13
Toronto 20

3 STARS

1) TOR Sundin 1G 1A
2) TOR Tucker 1G
3) TOR Raycroft 23svs

GG Viper!