TORONTO (AP) — Martin Jones stopped 38 shots for his first shutout of the season, Max Domi had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-0 on Saturday night.
Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Matthew Knies each had a goal and an assist, and John Tavares, Noah Gregor and Bobby McMann also scored for the Maple Leafs. Tyler Bertuzzi had three assists to help Toronto extend its point streak to nine games (6-0-3).
Jones, making his third appearance and second start this season, got his 29th career shutout — first since last Jan. 12 for Seattle against Boston.
“It was a pretty impressive game from top to bottom for us,” Jones said. “They are a high-volume shot team. They throw a lot of pucks on net. But there weren’t a lot of dangerous situations.”
The Maple Leafs spoiled former general manager Kyle Dubas’ return to Toronto. Dubas was fired by the Maple Leafs after their second round playoff exit last season, and he was subsequently hired by the Penguins.
Tristan Jarry started in goal for Pittsburgh and was pulled early in the second period after giving up four goals on 14 shots. Alec Nedeljkovic came on and finished with 18 saves the rest of the way. The Penguins snapped a two-game win streak.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t perform to our expectations, and it’s disappointing. We’re all in this thing together. We have to figure it out.”
Domi, moved up to play on a line with Marner and Knies in place of a flu-ridden Auston Matthews, sprung Knies for the game’s first goal 1:57 after the opening faceoff.
Knies fought John Ludvig for his first career fight on the next shift after the latter hit Domi into the boards. causing Domi to lose a front tooth.
“I’m not looking to do that going into games,” said Knies, who never fought in his two years at the University of Minnesota. “But I didn’t like what happened there when Max went down.”
Domi also started the play that led to Marner’s 13th of the season to put the Maple Leafs in front 2-0 midway through the opening period, stripping Pittsburgh’s Jeff Carter of the puck in the Toronto end.
McMann gave the Maple Leafs a three-goal advantage with 1:35 remaining in the opening period, scoring on a rebound for the 27-year-old’s first NHL goal in his 17th career game.
“I just wanted the puck to come to me in the slot,” said McMann, who added his first call would be to his parents in Alberta. “It’s been a long time waiting. When I was shooting pucks in the summer, it’s what I thought about.”
The Maple Leafs scored three more goals in the second period to extend the lead to 6-0. Domi showed good patience to outwait Jarry before scoring at 2:28, ending the goalie’s night. Tavares had a power-play goal at 4:25 and Gregor added one with 5:56 remaining in the second.
Nylander converted a pass from Bertuzzi to cap the scoring with 5:41 left in the third.
Toronto defenseman TJ Brodie also missed the game because of the flu. Like Matthews, it was the first game of the season Brodie missed. This leaves Domi, Marner, Tavares, Gregor, Nylander, Morgan Rielly, David Kampf, Bertuzzi and Calle Jarnkrok as the Maple Leafs players to have played all 28 games.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Minnesota on Monday night to open a two-game homestand.
Maple Leafs: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night in the finale of a three-game homestand.