The Pittsburgh Penguins' scoring slump didn't last long. After Pittsburgh scored one goal in its past two games, seven players scored for the Penguins for the second time in December in a 7-2 win against the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena. Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel scored in the second period to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead. After Michael Grabner made it 3-2, Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist each got goals to make it 6-2 with 7:38 left in the third period. Nick Bonino scored with 10.9 seconds remaining to make it 7-2. Sidney Crosby scored his NHL-leading 22nd goal in 27 games. Seven Penguins also scored in a 7-0 win against the Coyotes on Dec. 12. Pittsburgh has scored 47 goals in 10 games (8-0-2) in December. Matt Murray, who is 13-2-1, made 26 saves for the Penguins. Antti Raanta made 40 saves for the Rangers. The Penguins (21-7-5) are tied with the Rangers (23-11-1) for first place in the Metropolitan Division, each with 47 points. Pittsburgh outshot New York 22-9 in the first period, but entered the intermission tied 1-1. After Kevin Klein was given a double-minor for a high stick on Carl Hagelin, Crosby gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Ian Cole took a slap shot from the point that Crosby deflected off Raanta's blocker and in 5:55 into the first. Rangers forward Matt Puempel tied it 1-1 with 3:01 left in the first. After killing a power play, the Penguins took a 2-1 lead on a goal from Malkin 4:43 into the second period. The goal was Malkin's second in as many games and 14th of the season. Kessel extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal, his 11th of the season, 8:53 into the second. Grabner snuck his Rangers-leading 14th goal past Murray's blocker 1:52 into the third period to make it 3-2. Schultz scored his sixth goal in 11 games to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 4-2 before Rust scored his ninth goal 2:01 later. Hornqvist scored Pittsburgh's third power-play goal of the game to make it 6-2 with 7:38 remaining.
* Cole shot toward the crease and Crosby backhanded a pass to Rust in front of Raanta. Rust took a point-black shot, which Raanta denied with his left pad to keep Pittsburgh's lead at 3-1 with 2:54 remaining in the second period.
* With the Penguins leading 2-1, Kessel snuck a shot through traffic that trickled toward the goal line. New York defenseman Nick Holden scooped the puck away from the line, but not before it crossed over to push Pittsburgh's lead to two goals.
* Without defensemen Kris Letang (lower body) and Trevor Daley (upper body), Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta might have quietly had his best game of the season. He played 22:50 and led Pittsburgh with a season-high seven hits.
* Rangers forward Rick Nash did not play Tuesday and will miss at least one more game after injuring his groin against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, Vigneault said. … Sullivan reunited Pittsburgh's "HBK Line" of Bonino centering Hagelin and Kessel. After starting the season intact, the line has been broken up and put back together several times over the past two months.
"I thought it was one of our more complete games. I thought we came out with a lot of energy. We had a great start. I thought we grabbed momentum right from the very first shift." Mike Sullivan said.
Penguins @ Columbus Blue Jackets 1-7 - Thursday, December 22, 2016
Scott Hartnell scored his ninth NHL hat trick to help lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 7-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets (22-5-4) extended their Columbus-record win streak to 11 and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the most points in the NHL with 48. Hartnell got his third goal at 6:24 of the third period to make it 7-1 and complete a span of four unanswered goals in 3:40, which included three scores in 51 seconds. Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist, and the Blue Jackets also got goals from Cam Atkinson, William Karlsson and Boone Jenner.
Scott Hartnell was told to give it more cowbell and responded with a hat-trick.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves and Columbus extended its point streak to 13 games (12-0-1). Sidney Crosby had his NHL-best 23rd goal at 2:39 of the first to give Pittsburgh (21-8-5) a 1-0 lead, but it was all Columbus after that and Hartnell, who hadn't scored in nine games, played a big part. He has eight goals for the season. The Penguins lost for the first time in regulation in 11 games (8-1-2). Columbus scored both goals in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Karlsson got his fifth at 10:15 to make it 2-1. Hartnell followed at 12:20 for a 3-1 lead with an unassisted goal that slipped by Matt Murray, who made 17 saves before being replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury after the sixth goal. The Penguins had outscored opponents 21-3 in the third period in December.
* Hartnell isn't known for his speed or moves but on his first goal he caught Pittsburgh defenseman Derrick Pouliot backpedaling in the neutral zone and blew by him before putting a deke on Murray and scoring on a backhander.
* Bobrovsky stopped Crosby's attempt to stuff a rebound shot by Phil Kessel early in the second period during a Pittsburgh power play and the score tied at 1-1.
* Columbus defenseman David Savard blanketed Crosby, especially in the third period. Crosby had five shots through two periods and none in the third. Savard was not on the ice for Crosby's goal and he had a plus-4 for the game.
* Atkinson's goal was his 199th NHL point (101-98) in 331 games. … Crosby has points in 11 straight games at Nationwide Arena. He has five goals and 15 points during the streak. In 18 games vs. the Blue Jackets he has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists). … Gagner has 10 goals and 20 points in his past 20 games. … The Penguins had the first six shots on goal but Columbus had an 18-16 advantage after two periods and 28-26 for the game. … Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky won 10 of 13 faceoffs.
"We made some mistakes. We were coming out with the right intentions but they got that quick goal and scored some goals from there. Unfortunately, we couldn't grab hold of the game from there." Crosby said.
"We got outplayed in the second. Having said that, we're still in the hockey game. We just couldn't play the game the right way in the third period and they broke it open." Mike Sullivan
Sidney Crosby scored his NHL-leading 24th goal in 29 games to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins (22-8-5) recovered from a 7-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Crosby has scored in three straight games. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 23 saves, is 9-5-4 after winning three of his past five starts (3-0-1).
Crosby scored in the first period before Eric Fehr extended Pittsburgh's lead to 2-0 in the second. Devils forward Kyle Palmieri and Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel each scored to end the second with Pittsburgh leading 3-1. Patric Hornqvist made it 4-1 with 7:55 left in the third period. The Devils (13-14-7) lost for the eighth time in nine games (1-7-1). They shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 on Thursday to end a seven-game losing streak. Cory Schneider made 35 saves after making 16 against the Flyers in New Jersey's first shutout of the season. Pittsburgh outshot New Jersey 10-2 in the first period and Crosby took advantage to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. After Adam Henrique was called for hooking, Justin Schultz sent a pass to Crosby at the top of the right circle. Crosby one-timed a slap shot over Schneider's glove with 9:00 remaining in the first. Fehr made it 2-0 at 4:13 of the second period. Matt Cullen shot into the crease and Jon Merrill attempted to clear the puck, but sent it off Fehr before it bounced past Schneider. Palmieri's goal was upheld to make it 2-1 with 6:36 remaining in the second after Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference.
Ruhwedel gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead with 38.2 seconds left in the second. It was his first NHL goal in 35 career games.
* After the Penguins' lead was cut in half earlier in the second period, Ruhwedel extended it back to two goals within its final minute. He took a wrist shot that snuck through a screen from Patric Hornqvist to flutter past Schneider for Pittsburgh's third goal.
"It's been awhile. It feels good to get that first one out of the way. … It gave us a little insurance." Chad Ruhwedel
"I'll give credit to our leadership group. I think we trust this group of players. They always respond the right way. They're a proud group and they have high expectations for one another and I think it starts there." Mike Sullivan said.
* Andy Greene beat Evgeni Malkin down the ice and received a pass from Pavel Zacha, who sent him in alone on Fleury. After Greene went forehand-to-backhand, Fleury made a split-pad save that sent the puck off the right post and back through his five-hole to maintain the a 2-1 lead with 4:53 remaining in the second period.
* John Moore shot into traffic around Pittsburgh's crease with Palmieri posted in front of Fleury. After Fleury fell, Palmieri poked the loose puck through him for the Devils' first goal.
* With the Devils on a 5-on-3 for 40 seconds, the Penguins successfully killed Bryan Rust's interference penalty. P.A. Parenteau was called for interference at 9:11 of the second period to make it 4-on-4 and help Pittsburgh protect a 2-0 lead.
* The Devils have scored fewer than three goals in eight of their past nine games. … Ruhwedel replaced defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who was scratched after playing four consecutive games. … Malkin had two assists to move one point away from 800 in his career.
"It's been awhile. It feels good to get that first one out of the way. … It gave us a little insurance." Chad Ruhwedel
"I'll give credit to our leadership group. I think we trust this group of players. They always respond the right way. They're a proud group and they have high expectations for one another and I think it starts there." Mike Sullivan said.
"That was a rough one last night. It was good we got to play right away. We didn't have to spend all Christmas thinking about it. … I thought the guys had a great night tonight." Fleury said.
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