TORONTO -- Facing his former team for the first time since being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, right winger Phil Kessel had little effect on the game and it did not matter.

The Penguins did not need any help from their top players as Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had quiet nights in a one-sided 4-0 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night.

Kessel returned to Toronto for the first time being traded in the off-season and in the few times he touched the puck the crowd booed.

Instead, the Penguins got goals from centers Chris Kunitz, Eric Fehr, Matt Cullen and right winger Patric Hornqvist and won their fourth in a row while improving to 7-4-0.

"Yeah it was a little strange (playing back in Toronto), but it's still a hockey game and a good win for us," Kessel said. "We had a tough start to the season, but we've come along here and we're on a bit of a roll here and we've to keep going and improving. You look at our depth throughout our lineup, we've got a great team and each night different guys are going to step up.?

Fehr liked the fact the Pens played solidly in all phases of the game.

"We were forechecking and we were reloading, too, so it was a big team effort," Fehr said. "Our system is to make sure we always double up in the corners on their guys and we have good sticks around the net. Our defense is doing a good job boxing out, too.

Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was a force in net stopping 21 shots.

"I think it was one of the better games in the past weeks," he said. "From the start to finish, our penalty kill, our power play, our four lines contributed. They all did well."

Toronto fell to 1-7-2 and is winless in four home games while failing to find a scorer to fill Kessel's void and the fans booed heavily after the final whistle.

Leafs coach Mike Babcock didn't like the way his team responded after falling behind 1-0.

"I don't think we responded very well after that, and life's about responding to adversity and life's about doing things right," Babcock said.

"I believe we're a way better hockey club than that. I believe you have a responsibility as a good pro to bring it every day, and when adversity hits you dig in a little harder and you stick with your structure and you stick with your program.

"I didn't think we gave our fans that tonight at all. I'm obviously disappointed in myself. I'm the coach. I'm supposed to be in charge, be steady on the rudder and give them guidance. We didn't look like anything we practiced or anything we're trying to do."

Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf lamented the team's continuing woes.

"Trust me, it's not positive," he said. "It's not happy when you lose games. We know it's about results. It's about wins."

Kunitz opened the scoring in the first period on the power play, which has been a consistent problem for the Leafs, on a dribbler between the legs of goalie Jonathan Bernier.

The goal happened only a few seconds after Leafs' right winger Michael Grabner came close to scoring.

Fehr scored a shorthanded goal in the second period, grabbing his own rebound and potting a goal in his first game of the season. Cullen followed up with his first of the season.

NOTES: Toronto's scratches were C Nick Spaling, RW Brad Boyes and D Scott Harrington. Boyes was a healthy scratch. He has played in eight of the Leafs' first nine games. ... The Leafs have a roster loaded with former Penguins, including Spaling, Harrington, C Daniel Winnik and RW P.A. Parenteau. ... The Leafs came into the game with an all-time Halloween record of 8-4-1 at home. ... D Stephane Robidas has yet to play a game for the Leafs this season because of a lower-body injury. ... Tornto signed LW Rich Clune to an NHL contract on Oct. 29 and placed RW Mark Arcobello on waivers. ... Pittsburgh has two players on injured reserve: C Eric Fehr and RW Bryan Rust. ... The Penguins' roster has 10 players born in the U.S. and five in Canada. In contrast, the Leafs have only three Americans on the roster and 15 from Canada. ... Pittsburgh has only two assistant coaches compared to the Leafs, who have five. ... Penguins Executive VP/GM Jim Rutherford played part of his career with the Leafs.