TORONTO — There was chaos in front of the Toronto net in the final minute. But Pittsburgh’s last gasp came up empty when Rickard Rakell couldn’t whack it in.

The Penguins were trying to climb out of a two-goal deficit late in the game. But they lost 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.

Overall, it was a solid showing. But they couldn’t overcome two fluky Toronto goals.

It was noteworthy that the Penguins started Joel Blomqvist on Saturday, with it being Toronto’s home opener and broadcast on CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada.”

After the morning skate, coach Mike Sullivan suggested the rookie’s 29-save showing in Detroit changed the team’s plans for its goalie rotation on this road trip.

“It had an impact, without a doubt,” Sullivan said in a packed pregame scrum that had about three dozen media members. “We thought he played extremely well.”

No doubt, Blomqvist was impressive Thursday while winning his first career start. But a new day provided the coach with an opportunity to turn back to opening night starter Tristan Jarry and try to get the former All-Star’s season on track.

That’s presumably what Sullivan would have done in this situation a season ago.

That Sullivan stuck with Blomqvist probably says as much about the 22-year-old as it does Pittsburgh’s confidence in Jarry right now. The Penguins know they need to start stronger this season after awful Octobers cost them the previous two years. And they felt Blomqvist would give them a better chance to win here Saturday.

“He is a very good goalie,” Sullivan said. “He’s athletic. He makes a lot of saves.”

Adding additional intrigue to the goalie situation Saturday was the presence of Alex Nedeljkovic at the morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. He took shots from teammates in a practice setting for the first time since he suffered a lower-body injury Sept. 30. That suggests he will become available sometime in the next week.

His return could potentially create a decision point for Kyle Dubas and the front office. Carrying three goalies isn’t ideal for anyone, with only two nets at practice.

On Saturday, the Penguins grabbed a first-period lead on a power play tally from Kris Letang. It was the second game in a row in which their top unit lit the lamp.

Like the one Erik Karlsson got in Detroit, it was a simple score. Letang stepped in from the point, used a defender as a screen and roofed a shot on Anthony Stolarz.

Overall, it was a strong period by the visitors, maybe their best of the young season. They defended hard and spent significant stretches deep in the Toronto zone. Their rookie puck stopper did his part the few times they did break down.

The game turned early in the second period after a bad bounce for the Penguins.

Michael Bunting, the Toronto product who played two seasons here, passed the puck to Matt Grzelcyk in the neutral zone. It somehow skipped over the defenseman’s stick, creating a 2-on-0 rush. Max Domi set up William Nylander for the goal.

Sidney Crosby had a chance to restore the lead moments later, but he couldn’t finish off of a tap-in try. Instead, it was the captain who went head first into the net.

Soon, the Leafs capitalized on another crazy carom. This time, the puck hit the back boards, the side of the cage and came right to Matthew Knies in the slot. He snapped it past Blomqvist’s glove to put the Leafs in front 2:53 into the second.

Mitch Marner made it 3-1 early in the third period. He raced past Marcus Pettersson in the neutral zone and snapped a shot from the right dot behind Blomqvist.

Rakell scored with 7:31 remaining in regulation to get Pittsburgh back within one.

After Rakell was unable to tie it up late, Nylander hit an empty net to make it 4-2.

Ice chips

— Evgeni Malkin became just the 37th player in NHL history to reach 1,300 points. Only Alex Ovechkin (1,550) has more points than Malkin among Russian-born players.

— Bryan Rust was activated from injured reserve Saturday and skated on the top line with Crosby and Anthony Beauvillier. He missed the team’s first two games. He had a quiet night, other than a bad penalty he took late in the second period.

— With Rust back from injury, Jesse Puljujarvi came out of the lineup. Sullivan has been complimentary of Puljujarvi, praising him again after Thursday’s win in Detroit. But the coach kept rookie Rutger McGroarty in the lineup over Puljujarvi.

— Valtteri Puustinen and Ryan Shea were also healthy scratches here Saturday. They are still waiting for a chance to make their season debuts for the Penguins.

— Cody Glass drew the penalty that led to Letang’s power play goal in the first. He has quietly made an impact in all three of his first games in a Pittsburgh uniform.

— With an assist on Letang’s goal, Crosby is one point shy of 1,600 for his career.

— The power play was 1 for 4 on the night. The Penguins got an opportunity moments after Marner made it 3-1. But they were unable to do anything with that one.

Stat n’at

3 — The Penguins have won only three of their last 12 games in Toronto. They were held to two or fewer goals in nine of them, per Penguins historian Bob Grove.

Coming up

The Penguins will practice Sunday afternoon in Montreal ahead of Monday’s game against the Canadiens. That will be the last stop on this three-game road trip.

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