• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Blake, Maple Leafs top struggling Penguins

Feb 1, 2009 - 3:45 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- In a back-and-forth third period, Jason Blake made sure the Toronto Maple Leafs got the last laugh.

Blake capped a wild final session by snapping a tie midway through the period, lifting the Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Prior to the game, the Maple Leafs honored former captain Doug Gilmour, lifting a banner with his No. 93 to the rafters.

Matt Stajan also scored in the final period as both teams combined to score five times in the first 10:05 of the session.

"Before we went out in the third, we knew they were going to come out hard - that's a good hockey club," Blake said. "With (captain Sidney) Crosby and (All-Star Evgeni) Malkin on the ice, you've got to be aware. They got a couple quick goals in the third, we were fortunate to get the win."

Pittsburgh rallied with a pair of goals in a 74-second span to tie the game after Stajan pushed Toronto ahead, 4-2, just 2:33 into the third.

Malkin tipped in a shot from the point by Ryan Whitney at 5:33 of the third and Tyler Kennedy blasted a shot past Vesa Toskala from the right faceoff circle, knotting the score at 4-4.

"You know what? You can't give up five goals and expect to win hockey games," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "I liked the way we bounced back in the third period, but it's not good enough. Not good enough."

Blake provided the decisive goal with 9:55 left in the period to give Toronto back-to-back wins for the first time in over a month. The veteran left wing found defenseman Pavel Kubina at the right point and after Mathieu Garon made the initial save, Blake was there to score his 17th of the season.

"Kubi (Kubina) had a good shot," Blake said. "I don't know what it hit and it ended up on my tape. It's fortunate when you get a bounce like that and you score a goal."

Toskala made 22 saves as the Maple Leafs defeated the Penguins for the second time this season. The Finn was also in net during a 7-3 win on December 20.

Prior to the game, the Maple Leafs announced defenseman Tomas Kaberle will miss roughly four weeks with broken bones in his hand. Rookie Luke Schenn filled the void in a big way, collecting an assist, delivering big hits and taking on Kennedy in a fight midway through the second.

"For a 19-year-old kid to dominate the game physically is unbelievable," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "He punishes you when he hits you."

Ian White staked Toronto to a lead in the first period and Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky registered goals in the second, giving the Maple Leafs a 3-1 edge heading into the high-scoring third period.

Crosby scored just 55 seconds into the third for Pittsburgh, which lost for the third time in four games (1-2-1) and finished January with a 5-8-1 mark.

"We responded well in the third period - we didn't give up," Crosby said. "We didn't give ourselves the best opportunity to win and we didn't play well in the second period."

Garon stopped 21 shots in net and Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins.