Anthony Angello, a late addition to the lineup, scored his first NHL goal, and Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for the Penguins (37-15-6), who moved one point ahead of the Washington Capitals in the division with their third straight win. Angello took the place of center Evgeni Malkin, who was scratched after warmups with an illness.
"I think just everyone's contributing, and our work ethic, and urgency, has been there every night," Crosby said. "We give ourselves a chance when we have that. So I feel like there's still areas we can improve on, but I think the way everyone's getting involved, I think the work ethic always sets the tone for everything else."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Penguins highlights]
Frederik Andersen made 19 saves for the Maple Leafs (31-22-8), who are 3-5-1 in their past nine games. Toronto is third in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Florida Panthers having played two more games.
"It looks like the process that we want to go through is to just get embarrassed enough to the point where we really look in the mirror and recognize what's required for us to be able to compete at a high level," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said.
The Penguins have outscored the Maple Leafs 11-3 in two games this season. They complete a home-and-home at Toronto on Thursday.