TORONTO — Alex Kovalev feels just as good on his return to the Pittsburgh Penguins as he did when he left eight years ago.

Kovalev scored a goal in regulation and then had the only tally in the shootout to lead the Penguins to a 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

Kovalev, in his second game back with the Penguins after being acquired from Ottawa on Thursday, beat goalie James Reimer with a hard wrist shot.

The veteran forward was reacquired by the Penguins in a trade with Ottawa on Thursday and is hoping to salvage a disappointing season with a franchise for which he played from 1998-2003.

“It brings back old memories,” the 38-year-old forward said. “I know I can be the same player, and I feel like I have another opportunity to be that type of player and play in the playoffs. It’s exciting.”

Mark Letestu, Dustin Jeffrey, Max Talbot and Mike Rupp also scored in regulation for Pittsburgh.

The wear and tear of an unlikely push toward the playoffs is starting to show on the Maple Leafs. They squandered four leads Saturday before Kovalev finally finished them off.

It was a particularly difficult game for Reimer, who made some splendid saves in overtime but was beaten five times in an outing for the second time in his young NHL career.

“I was feeling pretty tired toward the end of the game,” said Reimer, who made 35 saves.

Joffrey Lupul had two goals, and Colby Armstrong, Clarke MacArthur and Dion Phaneuf also scored for the Maple Leafs, 8-2-3 since the All-Star break. Toronto closed within five points of eighth-place Carolina in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“We knew we weren’t going to win the last 20,” Lupul said. “There’s going to be nights when we don’t execute as well as we want, but we got out of here with one point. It’s not the end of the world, that’s for sure.”

However, Reimer admitted that the point that got away Saturday will be stuck on his mind.

“I definitely think about the one lost,” he said. “Shootouts are tough, especially for myself. I’ve always thought I’ve been a pretty good breakaway or shootout goalie in the minors and even when I was growing up.

“That’s a tough loss to take.”

With nine players out of the lineup, the Penguins hardly resemble the team that was challenging for the top of the conference earlier this season. Pittsburgh is 11-9-3 since losing captain Sidney Crosby to a concussion in January.

The Penguins’ young lineup showed no signs of fatigue while playing for the second straight night.

“They play a net-crash game,” Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. “We just weren’t quite able to cope with that for whatever reason. (We were) sloppy, they had too much time.

“We turned too many pucks over and mishandled some things in our end.”