PITTSBURGH – The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't get the deciding goal until late in the second period of their 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but both teams agreed that the game Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena turned earlier than that.

Much earlier.

Connor Brown and James Van Riemsdyk scored in the opening 1:42, and Tyler Bozak scored the first of his two goals later in the first period for a 3-0 lead.

"It was really good," Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen said. "We were opportunistic in the first period."

Andersen made 33 saves to improve to 10-2-1 with two shutouts and 25 goals allowed in his past 13 games.

Bozak's second goal stood as the winner for the Maple Leafs (19-10-1), who have won four of five. Mitch Marner added three assists.

Riley Sheahan scored for the second game in a row, and Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby also had goals for Pittsburgh as it climbed back within a goal twice in the third period.

The Penguins had won five of six, but their mood was more reflective of a disturbing theme that has surfaced at times this season. They were harshly critical of their start.

"We were not ready to play the first 10 minutes," Malkin said. "We aren't going to win if we play only two periods. We needed to play harder. The first couple shifts are very important. They were ready to play, and we were not. It's not the first time. It's the whole season.

"It's like we don't understand it's important, the first five minutes. Before the first commercial (break), first shift, two shifts, it's like we think it's an easy game. But it's not. It's the NHL. Every team, they're young, they're hungry. They want to win against the Stanley Cup champions. Every team is like this."

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was just as perplexed.

"We can't keep chasing games the way we're chasing them," Sullivan said. "When you play good teams, you can't spot them a three-goal lead. When you give up a couple goals early in the game, it's a head-scratcher for me.

"I'm not sure I understand why, but that's something we as a group have to solve if we want to become the team we want to be."

Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith, making his second NHL appearance, stopped eight shots in relief of Tristan Jarry.

Jarry was pulled after the first period, when he made 13 saves. Jarry had wins in five of his previous six appearances.

Toronto had no problem taking advantage of Pittsburgh's start.

Brown found himself staring at a half-empty net when he took an across-ice pass from Morgan Rielly. He scored from the right hashmarks for a 1-0 lead at 1:23 of the first.

Just 19 seconds later, van Riemsdyk scored on a rebound, taking over the team lead with his 14th goal and boosting the Maple Leafs' lead to 2-0.

"I think we just came out strong," Reilly said. "This is a really good team. Whenever you come to this building, you expect a challenge. I think that the guys were just ready to go and obviously created some offensive opportunities, and made them count."

The Maple Leafs made it three goals on 12 shots when Bozak needed a couple whacks to bat home a short rebound at 12:55 of the third period, making it 3-0.

"I just thought we were ready to go," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "Obviously, big start for us and then we rode that until the end."

Sheahan scored at 14:24 of the second. From the right circle, he converted a feed from rookie Dominik Simon by lifting the puck past Andersen's right shoulder to make it 3-1.

Malkin's power-play goal at 17:51 of the second pulled the Penguins to 3-2 and gave him a five-game point streak, but the Maple Leafs struck 22 seconds later on Bozak's redirection goal to restore the two-goal cushion at 4-2.

With 2:48 left, Crosby made it 4-3 when he took a pass from Kris Letang and hit a gaping net behind Andersen, who came out to play a possible shot by Letang.

"We carried the play for two periods, but we give ourselves a terrible start and we're uphill from there," Crosby said. "That's the tough part. We didn't put ourselves in a great position."

NOTES: Pittsburgh RW Patric Hornqvist left 49 seconds into the third after taking a puck to the left side of his face. ... Pittsburgh G Matt Murray (lower body) missed his fifth straight game. He was a full participant in the morning skate and said he could be close to returning. ... Pittsburgh LW Dominik Simon made his season debut when RW Tom Kuhnhackl (lower body) missed his first game of the season. ... Pittsburgh D Kevin Czuczma was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but was scratched, while D Frank Corrado was returned to Wilkes-Barre. ... Toronto D Ron Hainsey, part of the Penguins' Stanley Cup team last season, received his championship ring.