Sergei Gonchar Scores Twice as Penguins Beat Maple Leafs

TORONTO — Sergei Gonchar scored two goals during a 3-minute stretch in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday night for their second victory in eight games.

Bill Guerin and Sidney Crosby also scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 42 shots for Pittsburgh in the first game of a five-game trip.

Matt Stajan scored for Toronto.

The game turned on an unusual sequence in the second period.

With the Penguins on a power play, Gonchar scored a goal that went undetected and then tripped Alexei Ponikarovsky on a breakaway roughly 15 seconds later — causing the referee to signal for a Toronto penalty shot.

However, video review showed that Gonchar scored prior to hauling down the Toronto forward so the clock was turned back to 14:44 and the penalty shot became a hooking penalty — as per NHL rules.

As if that wasn't strange enough, Gonchar scored his second goal of the night shortly after stepping out of the penalty box to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. The Maple Leafs are 0-22-5 when trailing after 40 minutes this season.

Toronto is 3-8-2 in its last 13 games.

Crosby scored his 27th of the season with a highlight-reel move in the third. He beat Tomas Kaberle 1-on-1 before tipping the puck through Jonas Gustavsson's legs with one hand on his stick at 3:49.

Notes
Toronto defenseman Mike Komisarek missed his third straight game because of an upper-body injury. … Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik left midway through the game with an undisclosed injury. … Crosby has 12 goals and 30 points in 19 career games against the Maple Leafs.