If it wasn&#8217;t apparent by the fact that the Leafs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and went into the first intermission trailing 3-2, Sunday afternoon&#8217;s tilt in Pittsburgh went about how it feels like every afternoon game goes. High octane, chaotic, optional goaltending, and lots of goals. Thankfully, for all parties involved, the Leafs were never truly out of the game and came out victorious with a 6-5 overtime win. It wasn&#8217;t that simple, though.
After Auston Matthews busted a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-passes-darryl-sittler-second-maple-leafs-goals-list">non-empty net goal drought</a> that stretched back to January 22 to not only tie the game at 3, but move him into second on the Leafs&#8217; all-time goals list, Penguins forward Bryan Rust came in and erased it with less than five minutes to play in the frame. Then, John Tavares scored the equalizer with less than a minute to play in the second thanks to a gorgeous breakaway pass from Jake McCabe. And, if that wasn&#8217;t chaotic enough, Matthew Knies took advantage of lazy o-zone play from Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson and scored <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/leafs-matthew-knies-goal-of-the-year-candidate-buzzer-beater-penguins">another breakaway goal</a> to take the lead with 0.1 seconds left in the period.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Knies timing eh <a href="https://t.co/47h44JfRuA">pic.twitter.com/47h44JfRuA</a>
&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1896284035951050977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The third period kicked off in the most chaotic way imaginable (starting to see a trend here?), with Rickard Rakell taking no more than ten seconds to tie the game at 5. The two teams traded high-danger chances for the rest of the period before William Nylander ultimately settled things in overtime.
Matthews wasn&#8217;t the only one to bust a slump, either. Max Domi opened the scoring following 25 games without a goal, and Conor Timmins hadn&#8217;t scored since November before he put one past the Penguins netminder for the second of the game.
TSN&#8217;s Mike Johnson put it beautifully – the players loved the game, the fans loved the game, and the coaches probably hated it. Craig Berube will ultimately want to change some things up following a five-goals-against performance from his team, but in the end, these types of games happen. Joseph Woll wasn&#8217;t at his best, but the Leafs bailed him out with some offence, which can be accepted considering how many times they&#8217;ve been bailed out by their netminder this season.
Overall, you can have your qualms with the way the team has won some of their games lately, but in the end, they&#8217;re winners of eight of their last nine and have two games remaining before the trade deadline. It&#8217;s the best time of the season to get a momentum boost, and if they keep showing what they&#8217;re capable of, there&#8217;s ample reason to believe Brad Treliving will reward them for it.
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If it wasn't apparent by the fact that the Leafs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and went into the first intermission trailing 3-2, Sunday afternoon's tilt in Pittsburgh went about how it feels like every afternoon game goes. High octane, chaotic, optional goaltending, and lots of goals. Thankfully, for all parties involved, the Leafs were never truly out of the game and came out victorious with a 6-5 overtime win. It wasn't that simple, though.

After Auston Matthews busted a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-passes-darryl-sittler-second-maple-leafs-goals-list">non-empty net goal drought</a> that stretched back to January 22 to not only tie the game at 3, but move him into second on the Leafs' all-time goals list, Penguins forward Bryan Rust came in and erased it with less than five minutes to play in the frame. Then, John Tavares scored the equalizer with less than a minute to play in the second thanks to a gorgeous breakaway pass from Jake McCabe. And, if that wasn't chaotic enough, Matthew Knies took advantage of lazy o-zone play from Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson and scored <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/leafs-matthew-knies-goal-of-the-year-candidate-buzzer-beater-penguins">another breakaway goal</a> to take the lead with 0.1 seconds left in the period.

https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1896284035951050977

The third period kicked off in the most chaotic way imaginable (starting to see a trend here?), with Rickard Rakell taking no more than ten seconds to tie the game at 5. The two teams traded high-danger chances for the rest of the period before William Nylander ultimately settled things in overtime.

Matthews wasn't the only one to bust a slump, either. Max Domi opened the scoring following 25 games without a goal, and Conor Timmins hadn't scored since November before he put one past the Penguins netminder for the second of the game.

TSN's Mike Johnson put it beautifully – the players loved the game, the fans loved the game, and the coaches probably hated it. Craig Berube will ultimately want to change some things up following a five-goals-against performance from his team, but in the end, these types of games happen. Joseph Woll wasn't at his best, but the Leafs bailed him out with some offence, which can be accepted considering how many times they've been bailed out by their netminder this season.

Overall, you can have your qualms with the way the team has won some of their games lately, but in the end, they're winners of eight of their last nine and have two games remaining before the trade deadline. It's the best time of the season to get a momentum boost, and if they keep showing what they're capable of, there's ample reason to believe Brad Treliving will reward them for it.

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Knee Jerk Reaction: Maple Leafs win chaotic matinee affair against Penguins

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