PITTSBURGH — Nikita Zaitsev was still pretty steamed with how the night went against fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin and the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs.



“We just got to box out the people all game,” he said after only the second Leafs loss since Jan. 24, a 5-3 decision in Pittsburgh. “That was the problem today.”



Zaitsev was on the ice for three of the five Penguin goals.



He couldn’t get inside positioning on Carl Hagelin off the rush on the first one. He couldn’t quite wrap up the stick of Bryan Rust, who then set up Malkin, on the second one. And then Zaitsev, with the Leafs down a goal in the final minutes of the third, watched helplessly as Rust tapped in the dagger while he tended to Hagelin in front.



It’s been a struggle for Zaitsev since he returned from the first broken foot of his career.



“Yeah, I usually break hands,” he said rather matter-of-factly.



Zaitsev was...