TORONTO, 13 March 2004 — The Pittsburgh Penguins surprised the playoff-bolstered Toronto Maple Leafs in NHL action Thursday night, winning 3-2 despite being outshot 46-17. It was the fourth straight win for the surging Penguins, who have already been eliminated from post-season contention.
Backup Sebastien Caron stopped all but one of the 33 Leaf shots he faced after stepping in for injured starter Jean-Sebastien Aubin after a period. Toronto had many chances to tie in the waning minutes.
The game marked the Leafs debut of veteran playmaker Ron Francis, 41, the three-time Lady Byng Trophy winner acquired the first of the week from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Francis, who won two Stanley Cups in his stint with the Penguins, saw just under 12 minutes of playing time, registering a single shot on goal. “For his first night, he was fine,” said Quinn. “I think he’s going to fit in fine with us.”
Ex-Leaf Ric Jackman opened the scoring for the Penguins 6:23 into the contest, beating embattled Leaf backup Trevor Kidd. After Joe Nieuwendyk knotted it at 1-1 late in the first, the Penguins broke the game open with second-period goals from Rico Fata and Aleksey Morozov.
Mats Sundin brought Toronto close with the lone third-period marker. Pittsburgh is now 6-2-1 on the heels of an 18-game winless streak.
In other NHL action, Seldom-used Jason Williams scored twice and Brett Hull got the game-winner as the Western Conference-leading Detroit Red Wings downed the host Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2.
Brenden Morrow scored in the final minute of regulation to earn the red-hot Dallas Stars a 2-2 tie with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Michael Nylander assisted on all three Boston goals, including Mike Knuble’s game-winner 1:15 into overtime, to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Sniper Patrik Elias notched a pair of third-period goals to give the New Jersey Devils a 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Olli Jokinen scored his second goal of the game in the second minute of overtime as the visiting Florida Panthers upset the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.
Kimmo Timonen opened the scoring for Nashville with Eric Weinrich replying for St. Louis, the Predators and Blues skating to a 1-1 tie.
Marcus Nilson opened and closed the scoring for Calgary as the Flames doubled up on the Ottawa Senators, winning 4-2.
Jonathan Cheechoo got two goals, his second the game-winner, as the San Jose Sharks downed the New York Islanders 5-4 to snap a three-game losing streak.
