Pens @ Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 - Tuesday, January 02, 2018
After struggling to score for much of December, the Penguins got a boost from a unlikely source in their first game in 2018, a 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. The line of Tom Kuhnhackl, Riley Sheahan and Ryan Reaves combined for six points (two goals, four assists) for the Penguins, who had scored two goals in their previous two games, six in four and 16 in nine. Reaves and Kuhnhackl each had a goal and an assist, and Sheahan had two assists.
"When you get contributions throughout your lineup like that, it makes your team that much more difficult to play against," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "That's going to be something that hopefully we'll get more of moving forward."
Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist, and Conor Sheary and Jamie Oleksiak scored for the Penguins (20-18-3), who won for the first time in three games.
"It's definitely a confidence-booster," Reaves said. "We needed a game like that where the offense is clicking."
Matt Murray made 11 saves after he replaced Pittsburgh starter Tristan Jarry with 5:26 remaining in the second period. Jarry left because of an apparent right-wrist injury after making 16 saves on 17 shots.
The Penguins played the second and third periods without forward Carter Rowney because of an undisclosed injury, and defenseman Brian Dumoulin left with 9:31 remaining in the second. Dumoulin played one shift after being hit in the head by a shot by Flyers forward Claude Giroux with 13:17 remaining in the second. Sullivan did not have an update on Jarry, Dumoulin and Rowney.
Sheahan took Rowney's spot at center between Kuhnhackl and Reaves.
Jordan Weal scored for the Flyers (16-15-8). Michal Neuvirth made 10 saves after he replaced starter Brian Elliott at the start of the third period. Elliott allowed four goals on 14 shots. Pittsburgh scored four goals in 3:51 in the second period. Kessel finished a give-and-go with Sidney Crosby for a power-play goal at 9:35. The Flyers tied it 1-1 when Weal redirected a point shot by Radko Gudas past Jarry at 10:29, but the Penguins took a two-goal lead when they scored twice in 40 seconds.
"All three of those plays started in our offensive zone, one way or the other," he said. "You can go back and see three or four 50-50 puck battles that went their direction. If you want to simplify it and break it down, that's a good place to start."
Oleksiak scored at 14:04 of the third period to make it 5-1. It was his first goal since being acquired by the Penguins in a trade from the Dallas Stars on Dec. 19.
"We thought in the first period we had opportunities to put the puck on the net and we were looking for a better play and it never materialized, so as a result we didn't get pucks to the net as often as we could have. I thought the guys came out in the second period and the rest of the game with that mindset of putting pucks at the net and trying to create our offense off of it." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Reaves had his second multipoint game in 460 NHL games. He scored two goals against the Calgary Flames playing for the St. Louis Blues on April 25, 2013. … Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins, giving him 17 points in 15 games (seven goals, 10 assists). … Giroux's seven-game point streak ended. He had 12 assists during the streak.
Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist, and Conor Sheary and Jamie Oleksiak scored for the Penguins (20-18-3), who won for the first time in three games.
"It's definitely a confidence-booster," Reaves said. "We needed a game like that where the offense is clicking."
Matt Murray made 11 saves after he replaced Pittsburgh starter Tristan Jarry with 5:26 remaining in the second period. Jarry left because of an apparent right-wrist injury after making 16 saves on 17 shots.
The Penguins played the second and third periods without forward Carter Rowney because of an undisclosed injury, and defenseman Brian Dumoulin left with 9:31 remaining in the second. Dumoulin played one shift after being hit in the head by a shot by Flyers forward Claude Giroux with 13:17 remaining in the second. Sullivan did not have an update on Jarry, Dumoulin and Rowney.
Sheahan took Rowney's spot at center between Kuhnhackl and Reaves.
"All three of those plays started in our offensive zone, one way or the other," he said. "You can go back and see three or four 50-50 puck battles that went their direction. If you want to simplify it and break it down, that's a good place to start."
Oleksiak scored at 14:04 of the third period to make it 5-1. It was his first goal since being acquired by the Penguins in a trade from the Dallas Stars on Dec. 19.
"We thought in the first period we had opportunities to put the puck on the net and we were looking for a better play and it never materialized, so as a result we didn't get pucks to the net as often as we could have. I thought the guys came out in the second period and the rest of the game with that mindset of putting pucks at the net and trying to create our offense off of it." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Reaves had his second multipoint game in 460 NHL games. He scored two goals against the Calgary Flames playing for the St. Louis Blues on April 25, 2013. … Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins, giving him 17 points in 15 games (seven goals, 10 assists). … Giroux's seven-game point streak ended. He had 12 assists during the streak.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Pens 4-0 - Thursday, January 04, 2018
Cam Ward made 21 saves, and Sebastian Aho scored twice to help the Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 at PPG Paints Arena. The shutout was Ward's first of the season and his 26th in the NHL. His last came on Dec. 4, 2016, when he made 30 saves in a 1-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Pittsburgh did not register a shot on either of its two power plays. Aho, who had one assist in addition to two third-period goals, has 10 points (six goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. He said he was less interested in his individual achievements and more concerned with Carolina defeating a Metropolitan Division opponent.
The Hurricanes (19-13-8) have won eight of their past 11 games (8-2-1) despite losing their previous two (0-1-1). Matt Murray made 29 saves for the Penguins (20-19-3), who have not won consecutive games since Dec. 1-2, when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres twice by a combined score of 9-1. They have been shut out in two of their past three home games, including 4-0 against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 23.
Jeff Skinner gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 6:50 of the second period after he poked the puck off Ian Cole's stick in the neutral zone. Skinner drove toward the net, held off Cole and shot over Murray's glove for his 13th goal of the season and his second in his past 13 games. Teuvo Teravainen extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:53. Jaccob Slavin sent a backhand pass across the crease to Aho, who passed back through the middle of the zone for Teravainen to send a wrist shot past Murray. Aho made it 3-0 by beating Justin Schultz to the front of Pittsburgh's net and backhanding a shot through Murray at 9:14 before scoring again and pushing it to 4-0 at 12:33.
Skinner scored his 193rd NHL goal to pass Pat Verbeek for seventh on the Hurricanes all-time goals list. … Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin did not play. He sustained a concussion while taking a puck to the head from Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux on Tuesday. Sullivan labeled him as day to day.
"Just, in general, I think it's tough to have that level of compete every night. It doesn't come easy. You've got to earn your chances, fight to get to the front of the net. Those are all tough things that when it's going well, it seems like every time you do those things, the puck goes in the net. When it's not, you have to fight to get there and get the bounces. We haven't done that consistently." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
Pens @ NY Islanders 4-0 - Friday, January 05, 2018
Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists, and Daniel Sprong scored twice to help the Penguins defeat the New York Islanders 4-0 at Barclays Center.
Evgeni Malkin scored, and Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for the Penguins (21-19-3).
"We played fast, we generated a lot of shots, a lot of opportunities so that's more of the way we need to play," said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain, who had his first four-point game of the season. "Especially coming off of [a 4-0 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday]. We had a quick turnaround. That one was fresh in our mind and I thought we responded well."
Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves for the Islanders (20-18-4), who have lost five straight. The Islanders were shut out for the third time this season and have been outscored 25-8 during the losing streak. Sprong scored his first goal of the season to give the Penguins a 1-0 at 41 seconds of the second period, one-timing a pass from Crosby on a 2-on-1.
Malkin made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 3:30. Crosby sent a cross-ice pass to Malkin, who one-timed it from the right face-off circle.
"We've got to have a playoff mindset right now and I thought we had it tonight," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought we competed hard."
Crosby scored from the goal line at 15:50 of the second period to make it 3-0.
Crosby, who assisted on Sprong's second goal at 13:28 of the third period, has 107 points (33 goals, 74 assists) in 60 games against the Islanders, his most against any team.
It was the second shutout of the season for Jarry, who made 34 saves in a 4-0 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 1.
"It always helps to get those," Jarry said. "There was a couple [of shutouts] where I might have left one on the table, I let one in late so it was nice to get that."
The Islanders have lost five straight games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 19-29, 2013.
"I think this is something we can build off of, but at the same time, we should be excited to be in this kind of a race and play meaningful games every night, playing a lot of teams that we are chasing. It makes for exciting hockey. You want to be a part of those big games and we will have a lot of them coming up." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
The Penguins, who were 0-4-2 and had been outscored 36-12 in the second game of back-to-backs, have won three straight, outscoring opponents 14-3. ... Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin (concussion) and forward Carter Rowney (upper body) each missed his second straight game. ... Islanders forward Josh Bailey left the game in the first period (lower body) after playing 2:52. Weight said he expected him to be out for a while. ... New York defenseman Ryan Pulock and forward Andrew Ladd left the game in the third period and did not return, but no updates were provided.
Boston Bruins @ Pens 5-6 OT - Sunday, January 07, 2018"We played fast, we generated a lot of shots, a lot of opportunities so that's more of the way we need to play," said Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain, who had his first four-point game of the season. "Especially coming off of [a 4-0 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday]. We had a quick turnaround. That one was fresh in our mind and I thought we responded well."
Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves for the Islanders (20-18-4), who have lost five straight. The Islanders were shut out for the third time this season and have been outscored 25-8 during the losing streak. Sprong scored his first goal of the season to give the Penguins a 1-0 at 41 seconds of the second period, one-timing a pass from Crosby on a 2-on-1.
"We've got to have a playoff mindset right now and I thought we had it tonight," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought we competed hard."
Crosby scored from the goal line at 15:50 of the second period to make it 3-0.
Crosby, who assisted on Sprong's second goal at 13:28 of the third period, has 107 points (33 goals, 74 assists) in 60 games against the Islanders, his most against any team.
"It always helps to get those," Jarry said. "There was a couple [of shutouts] where I might have left one on the table, I let one in late so it was nice to get that."
The Islanders have lost five straight games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 19-29, 2013.
"I think this is something we can build off of, but at the same time, we should be excited to be in this kind of a race and play meaningful games every night, playing a lot of teams that we are chasing. It makes for exciting hockey. You want to be a part of those big games and we will have a lot of them coming up." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
The Penguins, who were 0-4-2 and had been outscored 36-12 in the second game of back-to-backs, have won three straight, outscoring opponents 14-3. ... Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin (concussion) and forward Carter Rowney (upper body) each missed his second straight game. ... Islanders forward Josh Bailey left the game in the first period (lower body) after playing 2:52. Weight said he expected him to be out for a while. ... New York defenseman Ryan Pulock and forward Andrew Ladd left the game in the third period and did not return, but no updates were provided.
Evgeni Malkin came through in overtime once again, when his second goal gave the Penguins a 6-5 win against the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena. Malkin, who had three points (two goals, one assist), scored at 2:51 for his 12th NHL regular-season overtime goal. That moved him into first place, one ahead of Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby (11 each), on the Penguins all-time list.
Phil Kessel sent the puck through the crease to Malkin for a one-timer past goalie Tuukka Rask. Malkin, whose 17 goals have him one behind Kessel for the Pittsburgh lead, has three goals in his past two games.
Pittsburgh (22-19-3) won a second straight game for the first time since Dec. 1 and 2, when it defeated the Buffalo Sabres twice by a combined score of 9-1.
"The results are critically important this time of year, there's no question," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The way you get them is you focus on the process. That's what we've talked about. … You can see how tight the League is. You can see how tight our division is. So every point that you get puts you in a better position."
"Just stop it, was my mindset, to be honest," Murray said. "Obviously, it's a big point in the game if they score there. So my mindset was just to stop the puck."
Marchand was disappointed he didn't score, since he saw Murray's five-hole open before the puck "got stuck in the snow a little bit," but was pleased with the Bruins effort. Despite scoring at least five goals in a fourth straight game, Boston (23-10-7) lost for the third time in its past 11 (8-0-3). Each team played its final game before its mandated five-day break. After the Bruins scored four straight goals to take a 5-3 lead in the second period, Malkin cut it to 5-4 on a power play with four seconds remaining. The puck slid out of a scrum along the near wall before Crosby backhanded a pass out front for Malkin to one-time past Rask.
Rask made 29 saves for Boston.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 1:51 of the first period, when Ryan Spooner wrapped a shot around Jarry's right pad, before the Penguins scored three straight goals. Oleksiak began Pittsburgh's flurry at 3:53 before Kessel made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 11:04. Kris Letang extended it to 3-1 at 13:27.
"I think we've been resilient. I think we're playing more of our game. … I think tonight was one where we were down, but we felt like we did some good things and they capitalized on some mistakes. We just stuck with it." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who scored six goals in his past three games, was held without a goal. He temporarily left after blocking a shot from Letang with his right leg at 19:32 of the first period. He did not seem to put pressure on the leg while being helped to the locker room, but he returned to start the second period. He said he received stitches in his knee. … Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Letang's defensive partner, returned after missing two games with a concussion. … Penguins defenseman Ian Cole was a healthy scratch.
Pittsburgh (22-19-3) won a second straight game for the first time since Dec. 1 and 2, when it defeated the Buffalo Sabres twice by a combined score of 9-1.
"The results are critically important this time of year, there's no question," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The way you get them is you focus on the process. That's what we've talked about. … You can see how tight the League is. You can see how tight our division is. So every point that you get puts you in a better position."
Marchand was disappointed he didn't score, since he saw Murray's five-hole open before the puck "got stuck in the snow a little bit," but was pleased with the Bruins effort. Despite scoring at least five goals in a fourth straight game, Boston (23-10-7) lost for the third time in its past 11 (8-0-3). Each team played its final game before its mandated five-day break. After the Bruins scored four straight goals to take a 5-3 lead in the second period, Malkin cut it to 5-4 on a power play with four seconds remaining. The puck slid out of a scrum along the near wall before Crosby backhanded a pass out front for Malkin to one-time past Rask.
Rask made 29 saves for Boston.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead at 1:51 of the first period, when Ryan Spooner wrapped a shot around Jarry's right pad, before the Penguins scored three straight goals. Oleksiak began Pittsburgh's flurry at 3:53 before Kessel made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 11:04. Kris Letang extended it to 3-1 at 13:27.
"I think we've been resilient. I think we're playing more of our game. … I think tonight was one where we were down, but we felt like we did some good things and they capitalized on some mistakes. We just stuck with it." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who scored six goals in his past three games, was held without a goal. He temporarily left after blocking a shot from Letang with his right leg at 19:32 of the first period. He did not seem to put pressure on the leg while being helped to the locker room, but he returned to start the second period. He said he received stitches in his knee. … Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Letang's defensive partner, returned after missing two games with a concussion. … Penguins defenseman Ian Cole was a healthy scratch.
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