Sheldon Keefe’s message must have sunk in as Maple Leafs get their swagger back

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On Thursday morning, the Maple Leafs awoke to a disconcerting reality. For the first time in a bit, they had dropped out of a playoff spot.

Sheldon Keefe mused early in the day that his team was still in a better position than it was at the all-star break, but it sure didn’t seem like it. Not after being manhandled by Pittsburgh on Tuesday and three losses in the previous four games.

He even said he looked forward to seeing the way Toronto would respond in a rematch Thursday night with the Penguins at Scotiabank Arena. Eye roll, please. Pittsburgh has been playing like a Stanley Cup contender. The Maple Leafs, not so much.

Something unexpected happened hours later.

Playing its most complete game in weeks, and possibly the whole season, Toronto beat the Penguins 4-0 behind goals from Jake Muzzin, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Zach Hyman and a strong performance by Frederik Andersen.

The Maple Leafs so frustrated their opponent that Pittsburgh’s Jared McCann fought Kapanen in the second period and then Patric Hornqvist ran into Andersen in the net shortly thereafter.

The swagger changed that quickly in a matter of 48 hours.

“It was a great effort,” Muzzin said. The defenceman also had two assists and blocked four shots. “The way we competed in battles and the competitiveness we showed all over the ice was what we needed.

“Sometimes it is frustrating because when we play like that the difference is like night and day. We are a totally better team.”

The Maple Leafs were coming off embarrassing 5-2 losses to the Sabres and Penguins. In the latter, they went 0-for-4 on the power play, gave up three power-play goals and were out of it in the second period.

It was such a dreadful performance that it left Keefe angry. He blistered the team during the first intermission on Tuesday and ripped it during his post-mortem with the media after the game.

“I just want to see a response in our effort, enthusiasm and competitiveness,” he said before Thursday’s encounter. "We need signs of life. That is what we are looking for at this time.”

As it turned out, he got much more than that.

The Maple Leafs bottled up Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and applied relentless pressure over the final 40 minutes.

“We have shown at certain times this season that this is a group with a lot of character and pride, and we showed that tonight with the way we responded,” Keefe said.

The Penguins did not come out with the zip they had on Tuesday and the Maple Leafs were more attentive and emotionally invested.

“It’s definitely not hard to feel embarrassed about how the game went [Tuesday night],” said Justin Holl, the Toronto defenceman.

Muzzin opened the scoring with a sizzling slap shot with 12:15 left in the second period. Nylander scored his 27th goal of the season on a power play a little more than two minutes later. Kapanen then scored on a break-away 6:56 before the second intermission, and had his dust-up with McCann three minutes later. Hyman added his 19th goal of the season early in the third period to put the game away.

“When you get punched in the face like we did on Tuesday, you want to come back and show you are better,” Hyman said.

Andersen, who is struggling more than at any time in his NHL career, started despite giving up 13 goals in three games since his return from a neck injury. He had lost four successive starts and entered the night with the lowest save percentage (.906) and highest goals-against average (2.97) he has had in seven seasons.

He turned away all 24 shots the Penguins directed at him.

“He was excellent,” Keefe said. “He battled and looked solid there. It is a really good sign for our team.”

Pittsburgh outscored Toronto 11-3 in two previous games and was hoping to sweep the season series for the first time in five years. The Maple Leafs did not allow it to happen.

“We have to go back to work,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “The first thing we have to do is recognize it. Toronto deserved to win tonight. They outplayed us.”

Afterward, blood was dripping from Kapanen’s nose and there was laughter behind the doors in the Maple Leafs dressing room for the first time in a while.

“I think the whole team showed a lot of emotion tonight, not just me,” Kapanen said. “We tried to get right off the hop tonight and get in their face and let them know it was going to be a long night.”

Toronto moved back ahead of Florida into third place in the Atlantic Division, pending the outcome of the Panthers’ game late Thursday in Los Angeles. Its next game at home is Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

In all, nine Maple Leafs players found their way onto the scoresheet. Jonathan Tavares had two assists, went 15-7 in faceoffs and blocked three shots.

“I think everyone responded the right way,” Muzzin said. “Everyone dug in and gave an effort.”

He knows it isn’t easy, but it worked Thursday night and might be the key to an elongated season.

“There are a lot of games, there is travel, stuff happens, and it is tough to do it every night,” Muzzin said. “But the best teams do it the most often.”