TORONTO — The Penguins are off for the next four days because of the NHL’s holiday break.

They would be wise to request an even longer break from the league. That’s how ugly things have become.

Playing against a struggling Maple Leafs team that looked disinterested in being present for most of the afternoon during an unusual Tuesday matinee at Scotiabank Arena, the Penguins shot their eye out over and over again in a 6-3 setback.

The biggest offender on this day was Erik Karlsson, the defenseman who has been so good for the majority of this season. As great as he’s been, Karlsson endured a brutal performance against the Maple Leafs, as his mistakes led to a couple of goals against.

Of course, he wasn’t alone.

The Penguins had the puck for much of the afternoon and weren’t outplayed, per se. But they made one mistake after another.

“I think that’s a pretty fair assessment,” Tommy Novak said.

Bryan Rust, Rutger McGroarty and Anthony Mantha scored for the Penguins.

Mantha’s goal evened the game at three one minute into the third period, helping the Penguins claw back from a two-goal deficit. The Maple Leafs have been reeling and appeared to be very much there for the taking.

However, the Penguins were very much in a giving mood.

Karlsson took a penalty and then, after a call against the Maple Leafs canceled their power play, Kris Letang coughed up a turnover that led to a William Nylander breakaway. Ben Kindel was penalized for slashing on the play.

During four-on-four action after the Penguins killed off the four-on-three power play, Max Domi badly burned Brett Kulak and beat Stuart Skinner for an “Edmonton double” to score the game-winning goal.

The consensus in the Penguins locker room was that they weren’t outplayed so much as they made terrible mistakes in big moments.

“The chances that we gave up, they were big ones,” Dan Muse said. “There was a lot we could have controlled to not allow those kinds of chances.”

It was not a pretty game for the Penguins’ blue line.

Karlsson was the ring leader of the mistakes on this afternoon, but Letang’s turnover to Nylander may well have changed the game, and Kulak has struggled badly since being acquired by the Penguins 10 days ago.

A bounce off of Parker Wotherspoon also led to Toronto’s second goal.

The Penguins have now lost nine of their past 10 games. In those contests, they’ve allowed 45 goals, good for 4.5 goals against. Historically speaking, when the Penguins have struggled in the Crosby era — they’ve certainly struggled recently, having missed out on every postseason starting in 2023 — goal prevention has been their biggest issue.

Their problems started in the first period, in fact, when Kevin Hayes coughed up a terrible turnover to Nylander, who scored on the subsequent breakaway.

Goal prevention, indeed, has long been an issue for these Penguins.

It still is.

Ten postgame observations 

• It’s easy to be critical of Skinner, and he allowed four more goals in this one. He’s been touched up for 12 goals in three games since joining the Penguins.

Still, I have a hard time judging him too harshly.

No, he hasn’t been great. And even though the puck caromed off Wotherspoon, creating misdirection, I thought Skinner reacted slowly to that and still should have made the save.

But Muse is right. The chances the Penguins are giving up are absurd. They allowed three breakaways in this game. It’s been way, way too easy for the opposition during this stretch of poor hockey.

No, Skinner hasn’t been great. No, he’s not exceptionally athletic by nature, and it’s been noticeable at times. But I think blaming the goaltending right now is really a stretch because of the horrendous defensive work we’re witnessing.

• Sometimes Karlsson is too cavalier for his own good.

This was one of those days.

Karlsson has been very good this season, but he’s still good for the occasional train wreck of a game, and that facet of his arsenal reared its ugly head today. Sometimes, it seems, he gets bored with playing NHL hockey and needs to spice things up. Call it thrill seeking. Call it Karlsson. Call it whatever you want.

There was way, way too much risk in his game.

And I didn’t see a ton of effort, either. When he blew a tire on the Steven Lorentz goal, he just laid on the ice for a minute after falling.

Losing an edge happens, even if I didn’t like the thought process that got him to that place on the rink. But I hated the lack of effort in the aftermath.

He also gave up pretty early on Bobby McMann’s empty-net goal. He’s been outstanding, yes, but that doesn’t excuse today’s performance.

• Kulak’s first few games with the Penguins have been a major disappointment. A proven veteran performer, he wasn’t having a great season with the Oilers when the trade was made.

That has certainly continued in Pittsburgh.

He’s lost a number of one-on-one battles since joining the Penguins and was badly burned by Domi on the game-winner.

A guy who can skate like Kulak can’t get burned like that, especially in a tie game.

• The funny thing about Kulak is, other than that one admittedly ghastly turnover by Letang in the third period, Letang has been much better since Kulak went on his pairing.

Does that have anything to do with Kulak?

I don’t know. But for what it’s worth, Letang’s level of play has risen since the move to put them together was made. Something to monitor moving forward.

• The news wasn’t all bad. I loved Rutger McGroarty’s performance.

He scored his second goal of the season and was all over the ice, especially in the second period. The rookie line was the Penguins’ best, as Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen also did some nice things in this game.

McGroarty, though, was that line’s best player and was rewarded with a goal. His play has steadily improved since being recalled. I like what I’m seeing from him.

• I liked Justin Brazeau’s game a lot, too.

He had a goal disallowed in the first period — it was the right call — but still did a number of good things today, using his body effectively around the net. I suspect we’ll see an increase in scoring from him when Evgeni Malkin returns to the lineup.

His game seems to be in a pretty good place.

• Sidney Crosby was pretty quiet in this game but did set up Bryan Rust for a breakaway goal in the first period.

This now gives Crosby 1,080 all-time assists, moving him past Adam Oates into eighth in NHL history.

Crosby has a chance to pass Joe Thornton into seventh place later this season, as he trails Thornton by 29 assists.

• I think the break will do Rust some good. He doesn’t look like he’s 100 percent and has taken a beating this season.

To his credit, he’s still on pace for nearly 30 goals, which I think people sometimes take for granted. He’s not had his best season, but he’s still a quality NHL player and he’s still producing. And I absolutely think he’s playing hurt.

• The Maple Leafs sure are a mess these days.

I’ll leave it to our Maple Leafs reporters to tell you what’s wrong with them. But I’ll say this much: I’ve seen them play three times in person this season and they’re one of the slowest teams I’ve witnessed in the NHL this season. Slow teams don’t win.

• Merry Christmas, everyone. Thank you, as always, for reading. Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season.