Matthews' 33rd goal, Campbell's 45 saves power Leafs past Penguins

TORONTO — Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews scored a goal and an assist, while Jack Campbell made 45 saves to push the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

However, Matthews ran face-first into the crossbar of the Maple Leafs net as he pursued Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with 13:19 remaining in the third period.

Doubled over and holding his face, Matthews left the game for repairs but returned with five minutes left. Moments before his mishap, he set up Michael Bunting for Toronto's fourth goal, less than three minutes after Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin scored on a rebound to break up Campbell's shutout bid.

Campbell put forth his best outing in weeks, keeping a red-hot Crosby and the Penguins (31-12-8) at bay. Even with the defeat, Pittsburgh has gone an impressive 14-4-3 since the calendar flipped to 2022.

On Tuesday, Crosby scored his 500th career goal in a win at home against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Maple Leafs (32-12-3) were outshot by the visitors 46-29, but have won back-to-back games after beginning a three-game Western swing last week with losses to the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

Matthews only needed 21 seconds to extend his point streak to nine games before 8,139 fans as relaxed provincial COVID-19 regulations allowed Scotiabank Arena to be at half capacity.

Matthews took a stretch pass from defenceman T.J. Brodie to score on a short-sided shot on Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.

The breakaway goal was Matthews' 33rd, tying him for the goal-scoring lead with Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers veteran Chris Kreider. Draisaitl and Kreider also were in action on Thursday.

Matthews has collected eight goals and 17 points during his