NHL - Pens Round Up - February 13-18, 2018

Ottawa Senators @ Pens 3-6 - Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Zach Aston-Reese scored his first two NHL goals, and the Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-3 at PPG Paints Arena. Sidney Crosby had an assist on each goal for Aston-Reese, who has three points (two goals, assist) in five games since being recalled on Feb. 3 from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

"It's pretty easy [to score on one of Crosby's passes]," Aston-Reese said. "He can fire one into pretty much anywhere. … I had an open net [on the second goal]. I didn't want to miss that one."
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he's been impressed with how quickly Aston-Reese has progressed.
"I think he's getting better with every game that he plays," Sullivan said. "He's a really solid two-way player. He's strong on the puck. He's good on the wall. He goes to the net. He has good awareness away from the puck. He's sound defensively. We can use him killing penalties.
"I just think he's a good overall player. I think he's getting better and better with every game that he plays. He's getting a little more confident."
Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh (32-22-4), which has won nine straight at home and are three points back of the Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan Division.
Matt Murray, who is 6-0-1 in his past seven games, made 30 saves for Pittsburgh.

Derick Brassard, Colin White and Matt Duchene scored, and Craig Anderson made 17 saves for Ottawa (19-27-9), which has given up six goals in consecutive games.

"We played well," Duchene said. "Murray was good early for them and we were outshooting them (by a) 2-1 (ratio) going into the third period and most of the third period too. So, it's tough when you get a few bad bounces and some really nice plays by them. They're one of the top teams in the League for a reason. They're back-to-back champs for a reason.
"They have some of the best players in the League on their team. So, there are a lot of good things, but obviously, in a loss, there are always things you can learn from and clean up."
Guentzel scored on the power play at 4:07 of the first period to make it 1-0. Justin Schultz saved the puck from being cleared twice at the blue line before taking a slap shot that Guentzel deflected past Mike Condon. Brassard tied it 1-1 at 4:18 of the second period. Mark Stone passed to Brassard, who scored under Murray's arm with a slap shot from the left circle.

Guentzel scored his second of the game to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 5:10. Phil Kessel's initial shot was saved by Condon, but Guentzel collected the puck and scored just outside the crease. Malkin made it 3-1 at 10:01 after Carl Hagelin found him with a backhand pass from behind the Ottawa net. Malkin spun around and sent a backhand shot that hit Condon before crossing the goal line. Senators defenseman Dion Phanuef left the game at 10:45 in the second period after being traded along with forward Nate Thompson to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. Aston-Reese extended the lead to 4-1 at 11:22 when his wrist shot from the left circle went under Condon's glove. Condon, who made five saves, was pulled for Anderson following the goal. White cut it to 4-2 at 17:19 before Letang scored at 10:09 of the third to make it 5-2. Duchene answered with a power-play goal at 14:21 to make it 5-3, but Aston-Reese made it 6-3 with an empty-net goal at 18:55.

* Malkin's goal at 10:01 of the second period.

* Murray's save on Cody Ceci at 8:43 of the second period.* Aston-Reese's goal at 11:22 of the second period.* Crosby has 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) in his past 16 games. … Brassard has three goals in his past four games. … Penguins forward Carter Rowney played after missing practice Monday and morning skate Tuesday. He attempted one shot in 6:36."We're using our speed, our forecheck. Turning pucks over. Getting pucks to the net quickly. Not letting teams get set up in their defensive structure. All the stuff that we know we're good at." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray
"We were playing terrific and the shots were 23-9 for us and the score was 4-1. … I think, as a team, we wanted to come out strong. We definitely did. Shots were 11-4 for us after the first period. We were playing really well. We were playing great. So, a tough night." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher

Los Angeles Kings @ Pens 1-3 - Thursday, February 15, 2018


Matt Murray made 34 saves, and Kris Letang scored the game-winning goal to help the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena. Murray, who is 7-0-1 in his past eight games, played in his 100th NHL game (62-24-7). His 62 wins in that span are the most among goalies to debut since 2005-06, ahead of Montreal Canadiens goaltender Antti Niemi (61).

"They're a good team with getting traffic to the net and trying to make the goalie's job difficult," Murray said. "There was some contact there. There were some screens and some tips. So, it's a tough game for a goalie. … Our D were doing a great job of getting stick and bodies, and letting me see the puck. When they do that, it makes my job a whole lot easier."
The Penguins (33-22-4), who have won 10 straight at home, are three points back of the Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan Division. Their winning streak is the team's longest since they won a franchise-record 13 straight at home from Nov. 15, 2013-Jan. 15, 2014.

"The game had a playoff feel in the sense that there wasn't a lot of ice out there," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought the third period was one of the best periods we've played in a while in a one-goal game. We stayed with it."

Jonathan Quick made 36 saves for the Kings (30-22-5), who remain three points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

"I thought the team played hard tonight," Kings coach John Stevens said. "Spent a little too much time in our zone. I thought our wall play let us down. … Not enough time in their zone."

Letang's slap shot went through Quick's five-hole on the power play to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead at 5:24 of the third period. Letang has goals in back-to-back games. Evgeni Malkin scored into an empty net to make it 3-1 with 24.6 seconds left. He has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in his past nine games and 28 points (18 goals, 10 assists) in his past 17. Ryan Reaves gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 6:06 of the second period. After intercepting a pass from Alec Martinez, Reaves took a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that went over Quick's blocker. Dion Phaneuf tied it 1-1 in his Kings debut with a power-play goal at 7:22. Ten seconds after Ian Cole went to the penalty box for high sticking, Phaneuf slid a shot under Murray's pad for his fourth goal of the season. Los Angeles acquired Phaneuf and forward Nate Thompson from Ottawa for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore on Tuesday. Immigration issues nearly kept Phaneuf from making his debut. He said he was told his paperwork had gone through Thursday afternoon.

"I was preparing to play the game," Phaneuf said. "The odds were that the immigration stuff wasn't going to go through, was what I was told. But then, I can't thank the people at the office [enough] that worked so hard to put everything through to be able to allow me to play so quickly. 

"I'm very fortunate that they were able to get the paperwork done. When I found out, I was pretty excited about the opportunity to play my first game for this organization."

* Letang's goal at 5:24 of the third period.

* Murray's save on Michael Amadio at 17:29 of the second period.

* Phaneuf's goal at 7:22 of the second period.

* Thompson played fourth-line center between Andy Andreoff and Amadio in his Kings debut. He didn't have a shot and won 30 percent of his face-offs in 12:41. … Crosby had an assist on Malkin's empty-net goal. He has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past three games and 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) in his past 17.

"I think we're doing some different things well. Special teams have been pretty good, that helps a lot. We're scoring in different ways, we're scoring gritty goals and some nice ones but we're defending well, so that's the main thing. When we defend well we have the puck more and create more offense, so we have to continue to make sure we do that." -- Penguins center Sidney Crosby
"I thought we played a solid game, obviously. I thought our special teams, minus the goal against, I thought they were pretty good. You can't expect, being on the road and scoring one goal, that that's going to be enough. We just have to find ways to create more and finish more." -- Kings forward Anze Kopitar

Leafs @ Pens 3-5 - Saturday, February 17, 2018


Evgeni Malkin scored his 900th NHL point, and the Pittsburgh Penguins won their 11th straight game at home, 5-3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena. Malkin reached the milestone when he scored to tie it 2-2 at 11:51 of the first period. Carl Hagelin passed to Bryan Rust at the right post, who knocked the puck out of the air back across the crease to Malkin, who shot past goalie Frederik Andersen. Malkin, who finished the game with a goal and two assists, became the fourth player in Penguins history to reach 900 points, joining Mario Lemieux (1,723), Sidney Crosby (1,093) and Jaromir Jagr (1,079). He has 20 points (12 goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games, and 31 (19 goals, 12 assists) in his past 18.

"[The milestone] means I play with a great team," Malkin said. "I play here for so long. I always play with great teammates, great linemates. [Penguins coach Mike Sullivan] gives me so many minutes to play. I play power play too, on the first unit.

"It's amazing to be here. I enjoy it every day. It's a good number."
Pittsburgh (34-22-4), which has won four straight games and nine of its past 11, pulled to within one point of the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

The 11-game home winning streak is the longest since they won a Penguins-record 13 straight from Nov. 15, 2013-Jan. 15, 2014.

"I give our players a lot of credit," Sullivan said. "They were playing hard. We had some offensive-zone time. We were hanging on to pucks, and that's how we can control territory and control momentum. We were able to get the fifth goal because of it. So, it was a strong effort on our guys' part."

Andersen made 34 saves for Toronto (35-20-5), which had won five straight. The Maple Leafs are in third in the Atlantic Division, six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and three behind the Boston Bruins.
"You want to be playing well against these teams," Andersen said. "We were close to winning again today, but these are good teams. So, sometimes you're going to get the short end of the stick. But it's positive we're playing well, but we have to keep working."
Olli Maatta sent a slap shot past a screened Andersen to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead at 7:56 of the third period. The goal was Maatta's first in 26 games. Rust extended the lead to 5-3 at 16:36.

Hagelin scored to make it 1-0 at 3:23 of the first period, redirecting a pass from Rust from between the circles. Connor Brown tied it 1-1 at 6:41 with a one-timer from in front after James van Riemsdyk sent him a pass from behind the net. Tyler Bozak gave Toronto a 2-1 lead with a backhand off a rebound at 10:40. Zach Aston-Reese gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead at 5:21 of the second period when he used his skate to kick a rebound to his stick and scored on the backhand. Patrick Marleau tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal at 15:46. The goal gave him 20 for the third consecutive season.

"It's better when those goals get a win. It's a little more enjoyable," Marleau said.. "If you give [the Penguins] chances, turnovers, stuff like that, they'll capitalize. If you limit those, you give yourself a better chance."
* Maatta's goal at 7:56 of the third period.* Matt Murray's save on Nazem Kadri at 13:09 of the second period.* Malkin's goal at 11:51 of the first period.* Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman temporarily left at 9:17 of the third period after Maatta hit him into the end boards. Following the game, Hyman said he felt fine after going through the concussion protocol. … Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner played after sustaining a lower-body injury during Toronto's 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday and missing practice Friday. He had one hit and one block in 24:23. … Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz did not play with an undisclosed illness. … Penguins forward Jake Guentzel played his 100th NHL game. He has 63 points (34 goals, 29 assists)."Personally, I think I just have to get more shots through to hit the net. That might happen." -- Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta
"We generated a lot, but three or four of our best chances, we couldn't get a shot on net. I'd say that was a high-event game. … If you're a fan, you had to be entertained." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock

Pens @ Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 - Sunday, February 18, 2018


The Pittsburgh Penguins won their fifth straight game to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-2 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Penguins (35-22-4, 74 points) lead the Washington Capitals by one point and the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils by four.

"It feels nice, but we know there's a lot of the season left," said Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, who had a goal and two assists. Riley Sheahan scored twice for Pittsburgh, which has won 10 of its past 12 games (10-1-1) and leads the NHL in wins and points since Jan. 1, going 16-4-1 for 33 points in that span.

Tristan Jarry made 35 saves in his first start since Jan. 17.

Artemi Panarin and Alexander Wennberg scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets (29-25-5, 63 points), who have lost three straight games (0-2-1) and are one point behind the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead after Sheahan redirected Jamie Oleksiak's shot from the point at 1:41 of the first period. Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella challenged for goalie interference, but the goal was upheld after video review. Brian Dumoulin made it 2-0 at 6:57 from the left point with a shot that deflected off Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington. 

"We've got to get as many shots on net as possible," Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "We have to do a better job of getting inside and getting some of those rebounds and tips. You saw that's where they score their goals."

Panarin cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:53, redirecting a pass from Cam Atkinson in front of the net, but Sheahan scored his second to make 3-1 at 11:29.
The Penguins scored on three of their first four shots.
"They have a lot of offensive weapons," Atkinson said. "It's tough chasing the game, especially against a team that's so offensive-minded."
Zach Aston-Reese made it 4-1 at 9:29 of the second on the rebound off a Matt Hunwick shot for his fourth goal in his past four games.
"When we got a three-goal lead like that early in game, it's a dangerous lead," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "As much as we're pushing our guys to pay attention to detail and stay on top of it, you're fighting human nature to a certain extent.
"And give Columbus credit. They were fighting all night long. They're a good team. They played hard, they put us under pressure."
Wennberg scored to make it 4-2 at 2:21 of the third period before Guentzel extended the lead to 5-2 at 14:09 with a slap shot from the left circle that beat Bobrovsky short side.
* Sheahan's goal at 11:29 of the first period.* Jarry stopping Matt Calvert at 4:53 of the third period.* Aston-Reese's goal at 9:29 of the second period.* Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz did not make the trip because of illness … Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin had an assist and has 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games, and 32 points (19 goals, 13 assists) in his past 19. … Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara missed the game with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced in the lineup by Harrington. … Columbus defenseman Dean Kukan left the game in the first period because of an upper-body injury. … Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno left the game late in the second period. He did not return after playing one shift in the third. Tortorella had no update, but Atkinson said it appeared Pittsburgh forward Conor Sheary's skate cut through Foligno's sock."It's huge for us when we have multiple lines contributing. It's tough for other teams to match up." -- Penguins forward Jake Guentzel
"They don't shoot the puck just to try to take a shot. They create offense, a lot of deflections. They're very smart. It's very challenging to play against them." -- Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky

NHL - Pens Round Up - February 02-09, 2018

Washington Capitals @ Penguins 4-7 - Friday, February 02, 2018


Evgeni Malkin had two goals and two assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 7-4 win against the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.

"It's great tonight," said Malkin, who has 10 points in his past three games (seven goals, three assists). "We played quick. We used our legs. We understand each other… We enjoy playing. We are having fun right now. We understand we have four great lines."
Phil Kessel scored twice; Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist and Bryan Rusteach had a goal; and Matt Murray made 29 saves for Pittsburgh (29-21-3), which has won four straight and is 9-2-0 in its past 11 games.

"This weekend, we have some big games," Kessel said. "We started off pretty good."
Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist, and Braden Holtby made 27 saves on 33 shots for Washington (30-16-5), which has lost four of its past six games (2-2-2).
"I thought we had some stretches where we were fine," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we were pretty resilient. We were chasing the game and got it tied up. At the end of the day, we just gave them a few too many odd-man rushes and we lost the special teams war."
Pittsburgh was 3-for-4 on the power play; Washington was 0-for-3.

Kessel gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 2:11 of the first period after banking a shot off Holtby. Hagelin made it 2-0 at 15:50 after intercepting a pass from Christian Djoos and scoring on the blocker side. Ovechkin made it 2-1 when he stickhandled around Kris Letang on his way to the net, taking a wrist shot that deflected off Murray's pads and Brian Dumoulin's skate before crossing the goal line at 18:10. Hornqvist made it 3-1 with a power-play goal 26 seconds into the second period. Malkin passed to Sidney Crosby along the side of the net, who quickly sent the puck to Hornqvist, who one-timed a shot past Holtby's blocker. Crosby has 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) during his season-long 11-game point streak. He is on a seven-game goal drought since scoring his 399th NHL goal against the New York Rangers on Jan. 14. Dmitry Orlov's slap shot from the top of the left circle to cut it to 3-2 at 3:08 of the second before Evgeny Kuznetsov tied it 3-3 at 11:57.

Malkin scored at 1:01 of the third period after getting a rebound off his initial shot and making it 4-3. Ovechkin tied it 4-4 with his second goal at 1:50 of the third, but the Penguins regained the lead after Rust scored on a power play. He gathered the rebound off a shot from Letang and scored around Holtby's left pad at 6:08 of the third to make it 5-4.

"We made two turnovers in the first period and they score," Ovechkin said. "We come back. It was a tight game, 3-3. They scored another one and we tied the game again. We gave them opportunities to score and we didn't [score]. We'll take it and go forward."
Kessel made it 6-4 when he shot short side over Holtby's glove at 7:59 of the third period. Following the goal, Holtby was pulled and replaced by Philipp Grubauer, who made five saves on six shots. Malkin scored his second on the power play to give the Penguins a 7-4 lead at 10:00 of the third period.
* Rust's goal at 6:08 of the third period.* Murray's save on Chandler Stephenson at 13:17 of the first period.* Kessel's goal at 7:59 of the third period.* Hornqvist sustained a lower-body injury colliding with Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik at 2:37 of the third period. Sullivan said Hornqvist would not travel with the Penguins to New Jersey. … Pittsburgh forward Conor Sheary did not play with a lower-body injury and is listed as week to week. Rust, who has three goals in his past two games, played on the first line at right wing in his absence. … Ovechkin has 10 points in his past seven games (five goals, five assists)."I thought it was a good game. I thought it was two good teams going at it. They made some good plays when they scored. So, it's tough to keep them off the board… I just thought it was a real good hockey game. There were offensive chances at both ends of the rink. We'd like to do a better job, I think, of limiting a handful of them." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"Got behind. Battled back over the course of two periods there. We were able to find some offense, but couldn't play defense today." -- Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen

Penguins @ New Jersey 1-3 - Saturday, February 03, 2018
Travis Zajac had two goals and an assist for the New Jersey Devils in a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center. Blake Coleman had a goal and an assist, Stefan Noesen had two assists, and Keith Kinkaid made 15 saves for the Devils (27-16-8), who won their third straight game and outshot the Penguins 38-16.

"Those guys work hard," Zajac said of Coleman and Noesen. "I'm just trying to keep up with their speed and tenacity. As a line, we're not going to score every night, but we need to generate chances and make sure we're tough to play against. If we can do that, we'll help the team."
Evgeni Malkin scored, and Casey DeSmith made 35 saves for the Penguins (29-22-3), who had a four-game winning streak end. They defeated the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday and are 5-5-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. Penguins forward Sidney Crosby did not have a point for the first time in 12 games. He scored what would have been his 400th NHL goal 12:54 into the third period but it was waved off for goalie interference by Bryan Rust.

"I think we got outworked," Crosby said. "They seemed to be more desperate; that was definitely the case in the first two periods. We came out a little harder in the third, but we didn't win battles. You get a big win and you've got to be able to turn the page, and emotionally we weren't ready."
The line of Noesen, Zajac and Coleman combined for 12 shots, six hits, five takeaways and seven points. Zajac won 56 percent of his faceoffs (10 of 18).
"[Travis'] line was our motor, they got us going," Devils center Brian Boyle said. "We played well as a whole, but they made the difference when we needed it most. Scoring one goal in this league is hard, and he got two, so good for Travis because we appreciate everything he does for us."

The Devils took a 3-1 lead at 9:51 of the third period when Zajac tipped in a shot from the point by Damon Severson.

"Travis is an unbelievable two-way player," Noesen said. "He's shutting down Sidney Crosby, and any guy who can do that, and put up three points, I want him on my team. He stood up for Kyle Palmieri when he fought Radko Gudas (in a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in the previous game).
"Truthfully, it's been an honor to play with him; he's been lights out."
Coleman gave the Devils a 2-0 lead 3:05 into the second period off a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle that beat DeSmith over his left shoulder. Zajac scored his first goal in 10 games off a scramble in the slot 30 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.
"I think as a line we were in sync tonight and [Coleman and Noesen] were really good on the forecheck, turning pucks over," Zajac said. "They worked up and down the ice and we got rewarded for it."
Malkin scored his eighth goal in four games after taking a pass from Ian Cole down the slot and scoring off his backhand at 6:16 of the third period to pull the Penguins within 2-1.
"When you don't play committed, don't play hard, you're not going to win," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "They wanted it more. They won every loose-puck battle, were quicker with their second man to the puck battles. For whatever reason, we didn't have any jump. We didn't have our legs and we deserved to lose."
* Coleman's goal at 3:05 of the second period.* Kinkaid's save against Zachary Aston-Reese at 3:08 of the first period.* Zajac's goal at 9:51 of the third period.* New Jersey moved past Pittsburgh into second place in the Metropolitan Division and has three games in hand. … Kinkaid, in his fourth season, won his NHL career-high 10th game (10-4-2). … Aston-Reese played 6:24 and was minus-1 in his NHL debut on a line with Carter Rowney and Ryan Reaves. ... The Penguins scratched forward Patric Hornqvist (lower body). There is no timetable for his return but the injury isn't expected to be long-term. ... Devils forward Taylor Hall had an assist on the last goal to extend his point streak to 10 games (six goals, nine assists)."The [Devils] are young, they have energy. They are hungry. They are quick. They are everything we thought they would be. We knew it would be a hard game and they would play hard. They play a north-south game with speed and we were not prepared to play." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan 
"[Zajac] plays tough minutes; he wants to contribute offensively, but every night he's there, and we're not in games a lot of the time without the thankless things that he does against top guys. This is a great league and he's got to play against those guys every night. You need to build teams around guys like Travis Zajac because he does so many things well." -- Devils center Brian Boyle

Vegas Golden Knights @ Penguins 4-5 - Tuesday, February 06, 2018

The Pittsburgh Penguins scored five straight goals to spoil Marc-Andre Fleury's return to PPG Paints Arena with a 5-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Fleury made 33 saves for Vegas (35-14-4) in his second game against his former team; he made 24 saves in a 2-1 win against Pittsburgh (30-22-3) on Dec. 14.

"I didn't know what to expect. In the warm-up, I had goose bumps," Fleury said. "It's a night I won't forget. … It was very, just weird. The game was here, so it was different. But it was a game I'll remember forever."
Matt Murray made 21 saves for the Penguins, who have won five of their past six games.

"It was what I think everybody expected it to be," Murray said. "It was an emotional, pretty free-flowing game. They're a really good team. They're tough to play against. We had to give it our best to get the two points."

Ryan Reaves cut the Golden Knights lead to 2-1 at 11:08 of the second after Riley Sheahan stripped Brad Hunt of the puck. Sheahan sent a pass to Reaves, who shot through Fleury's five-hole from the left face-off circle. Ian Cole tied it 2-2 at 17:24 with a snap shot, and Jake Guentzel gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 18:40. Evgeni Malkin made it 4-2 at 3:09 of the third period for his 30th goal of the season before setting up Phil Kessel, who extended the lead to 5-2 at 6:20. Malkin (one goal, one assist), Kessel (one goal, one assist) and Sidney Crosby (two assists) each had two points. Malkin has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in his past five games.

Crosby has 24 points (three goals, 21 assists) in his past 13 games, but is on a nine-game goal drought since scoring his 399th NHL goal on Jan. 14.

"Good for us to climb back in it there," Crosby said. "It wasn't looking good for a while when we were down a couple. So, a big second [period] followed with a big third."
Ryan Carpenter stopped the flurry with a wrist shot that cut it to 5-3 at 6:38. Jonathan Marchessault made it 5-4 at 12:04. After Malkin was called for slashing Deryk Engelland at 1:07 of the first, William Karlsson ended his five-game goal drought on the power play to give Vegas a 1-0 lead at 2:09.

James Neal extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:34 of the second period.

"It's a tough loss," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "We played a real good 30 minutes, and then we sort of backed off. That's why they're the Stanley Cup champs. They can create good plays. I thought the first 30 we played real well.
"We didn't skate, we didn't work hard enough and our gaps were bad. When you give the room to make plays in the neutral zone, with their speed, they're going to attack you. I thought we backed off too much and gave them too many odd-man rushes."

* Malkin's goal at 3:09 of the third period.
* Murray against Karlsson on a breakaway at 7:31 of the second period.* Kessel's goal at 6:20 of the third period.* The Penguins honored Fleury with a video tribute during the first television timeout. Following the video, the crowd chanted Fleury's last name as he raised his stick. … The Golden Knights lost after scoring first for the second time this season (22-2-0). … Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist missed a second straight game with a lower-body injury. After initially saying he didn't anticipate Hornqvist to be out long-term, Sullivan said he would be week to week on Monday. … Penguins forwards Carter Rowney and Tom Kuhnhackl did not play after the first period because of lower-body injuries. Sullivan said he would have more information later."[Fleury is] just a great person. Obviously a great player, but a great person. As you see, the city loves him. We certainly love him here. We're happy to have him. … We should have just had a better effort for him tonight. Played great again. Gives us a chance to win every single night." -- Golden Knights forward James Neal
"I thought both goaltenders did a terrific job. I think it was every bit as emotional for Matt Murray as it was for [Fleury]. I thought both of them handled themselves extremely well, as they always do. They're two really good pros. They're two really good people. And I thought they did a great job." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Penguins @ Dallas Stars 3-4 SO - Friday, February 09, 2018


Kari Lehtonen made 34 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 4-3 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at American Airlines Center. Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis scored, and Jamie Benn had three assists for the Stars (33-19-4), who have won five games in a row and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

The Stars arrived in Dallas at 3:30 a.m. local time after a 2-1 win at the Chicago Blackhawks.

"I felt today, whatever happened today we we're going to learn some valuable lessons," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We learned a lot about ourselves today and we learned a lot about how deep we can dig, and we dug deep tonight to get two points."
Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz tied the game 3-3 with 1:13 remaining after the Stars scored three straight goals, including two in the third period, to take the lead. Riley Sheahan and Carl Hagelin scored, and Matt Murray made 33 saves for the Penguins (30-22-4), who lost for the second time in seven games (5-1-1) and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the Washington Capitals.
"It's a good team over there, they're going to fight back, and they were able to get a couple goals in the third," Schultz said. "Would've liked to be a little more tight defensively. But it happens, and we got that tying goal which is huge for us. We'll take the point, we would've liked two, but any point now is big."
Seguin scored the only goal of the shootout in the top of the second round.
Evgeni Malkin missed the net on Pittsburgh's first attempt, and Sidney Crosby hit the crossbar in the second round before Lehtonen made a save on Phil Kessel in the third to seal the win for Dallas.

"I decided to stay a little bit more out and be more patient rather than have a lot of flow backwards like what I usually do, so I kind of changed what I was doing," Lehtonen said. "So, I think that helped trick those guys a little bit. But still, I wasn't that close to Crosby's shot. Luckily, he missed the net."

Sheahan gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 9:07 of the first period when he beat Lehtonen between the legs on a breakaway.
Hagelin scored a shorthanded goal at 4-on-3 to make it 2-0 at 10:54 when he forced a turnover, skated past Klingberg, and beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot.
"His foot speed is his biggest strength. He wins foot races," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "That's one of the reasons that he's an effective penalty-killer, is his ability to chase people down and put them under pressure."
Seguin cut the Penguins lead to 2-1 with 2:03 left in the first when he finished off a pass from Benn. Rookie defenseman Dillon Heatherington got his first NHL assist.

Klingberg tied it 2-2 at 2:46 of the third period with a wrist shot from the slot. Alexander Radulov set up the goal with a pass from behind the net, extending his assist streak to four games. Hamhuis gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 6:47 with a slap shot from the point. Murray lost his stick on the play and was beaten to the blocker side.

* Hamhuis' goal at 6:47 of the third period.

* Lehtonen stopping Malkin at 16:05 of the third period.* Hagelin's goal at 10:54 of the first period.* It was the first win of the season for the Stars when trailing entering the third period (1-14-1) and the first loss for the Penguins when leading entering the third (17-0-1). … Crosby has not scored in 10 games but has 13 assists in that span. ... Dallas center Martin Hanzal was out with a lower-body injury. He has missed at least one game because of injury seven times this season. … The Stars trail the St. Louis Blues by one point for third place in the Central Division.
"Obviously, we're disappointed we give up two early in the third there, but I liked the fight. We stayed with it and we get the game tied up. It was a hard-fought game. They're a good team. It was one of those games that had a playoff-type feel. There wasn't a lot of ice out there." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"[Radek] Faksa did a job. That line has done a job for two months now, but Radek did a heck of a job. That was a big load for that line, I mean, first of all, most of the shifts you're not going to have the puck, and you're going to have to check and you're going to have to be really determined and you're going to have to play through really big bodies." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock on keeping Penguins center Sidney Crosby off the score sheet

NHL - Vancouver Canucks @ Ottawa Senators 3-6 - Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Anders Nilsson made 32 saves in his first game with the Vancouver Canucks, helping them to a 3-0 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.Brock Boeser, Alexander Burmistrov and Thomas Vanek scored for the Canucks (2-2-1), who had lost three in a row. Craig Anderson made 21 saves for the Senators (3-1-2), who had won three straight and lost in regulation for the first time this season. Senators captain Erik Karlsson made his season debut. The two-time Norris Trophy winner returned after surgery to repair torn tendons in his foot on June 14. He played 22:25.

Karlsson said he didn't experience any pain.
"No, I feel like I did before the game," he said. "A little bit more tired, which is as expected. Overall, the breathing felt good, the legs felt good and the head was still there. I'm excited to move forward and get things going for real."
Nilsson, 27, signed a two-year, $5 million contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The shutout was the third of his NHL career.
"You're always going out there and try to have a shutout, of course it's a nice bonus, but the most important thing and the thing we need right now is two points," Nilsson said. "That's almost a nicer feeling.
"I felt good all night. Ottawa came out and pushed us back in the first period, so I got to make some saves early and get into the game right away. In the second and third I thought we took over the game and we were the better team."

The Senators outshot the Canucks 17-4 in the first period, but the Canucks took the lead when Boeser scored a power-play goal at 15:29. Senators coach Guy Boucher used his challenge for goaltender interference, but it was ruled Burmistrov did not interfere with Anderson. It was the first power-play goal allowed by the Senators. They had killed off 15 straight shorthanded situations this season. Burmistrov put the Canucks ahead 2-0 with 3:31 left in the second period when he deflected Boeser's shot. The goal came 32 seconds after video review ruled the stick of Canucks forward Brandon Sutter was above the height of the crossbar when he tipped the puck into the net. Vanek scored with 4:48 left in the third period to make it 3-0. It was his 700th NHL point.

Tuesday marked the beginning of a five-game road trip for Canucks.
"It's huge, especially being on the road here," Vanek said. "This is a team that's rebuilding, trying to learn how to win with a lot of newer faces, younger guys, so this is huge. You've got to win on the road to have success, so against a very good, structured Ottawa team, that's a big win."

* After Karlsson hit the crossbar with 4:55 left in the third period, Vanek got the rebound and scored with a slap shot on a breakaway seven seconds later to make it 3-0.

* With the Canucks up 1-0 at 7:09 of the second period, Senators forward Mike Hoffman chased down a long pass behind Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton, but Nilsson dropped to his knees to save Hoffman's shot from the edge of the crease.

* The Canucks stormed the net during a power play in the first period, and Boeser scored his second goal of the season when he found a loose puck and lifted it over Anderson."It was a nice win, for sure, coming off a homestand where we felt as a group we probably could have squeezed out a few more points. To start a five-game road trip with a win is definitely a nice feeling." -- Canucks coach Travis Green
"Their goalie played outstanding. He's a big man. We knew that he was probably going to stop all of our first shots because of his size. We knew we had to work hard around him to get secondary chances and third chances. We didn't do enough of that, that's for sure." -- Senators coach Guy Boucher


Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki left the game because of an upper-body injury after a fight in the second period with Canucks forward Derek Dorsett. … Dorsett played his 500th NHL game.

NHL - Detroit Red Wings @ Leafs 3-6 - Wednesday, October 18, 2017

The Toronto Maple Leafs scored four goals on their first five shots in a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Air Canada Centre. Nazem Kadri, Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and Connor Brown scored in the first period for the Maple Leafs (6-1-0), who have won three consecutive games. Morgan Rielly and William Nylander scored, and Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves in his first start of the season for Toronto, which has the best record in the NHL.

"It feels really good, the guys are happy," Rielly said. "We've had some hard-fought wins where we've really taken some pride in it, but that being said, we're just getting started here. The season's only two weeks old, so we have a long way to go. It's a good feeling to start this way, but it's a long season."Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Ericsson scored, and Nick Jensen had three assists for the Red Wings (4-3-0), who have lost two consecutive games. Jimmy Howard allowed three goals on four shots and was replaced by Petr Mrazek, who allowed a goal on the first shot he faced before making 19 saves on the final 20 shots.

"There was some kind of funny goals, I don't know if that was all on (the goalies). I think some of it is where it was just one of those nights where it goes in for them," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We did tons of good stuff and had lots of good moments, especially in the first (period) where we carried the play, but it just seemed like everything they threw at the net when in. I can't say that's always goaltending, just sometimes that's how it goes."

Kadri put a wrist shot past Howard's blocker at 5:56 of the first period to make it 1-0. Hyman deflected a shot from Rielly 43 seconds later to put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-0.
Zetterberg made it 2-1 with a wraparound at 12:10, but Matthews scored at 15:46 to make it 3-1. Connor Brown scored on Mrazek at 16:26 to put the Maple Leafs up 4-1.
"We can definitely be a lot better, but when we're coming out with two points in games like these in back-to-backs, our progress coming from last year in these types of games, it's definitely pretty positive for the group," Matthews said.
Tatar scored at 7:02 of the second period to make it 4-2; his first of the season was his 100th NHL goal. Ericsson put a point shot past McElhinney's blocker at 8:36, but the goal was waved off because of goaltender inference. The Red Wings challenged and the ruling was overturned to make it 4-3.

Rielly put the Maple Leafs up 5-3 with a power-play goal at 12:57. The Red Wings challenged but it was determined that goaltender interference did not occur. Nylander scored into an empty net at 16:52 of the third period to make it 6-3.

* Matthews skated into the Red Wings zone and, using defenseman Trevor Daley as a screen, put a wrist shot past Howard on the short side for his sixth goal of the season.

* McElhinney stretched out his left pad and made a save on Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha at 14:50 of the first period, keeping the Maple Leafs up 2-1.

"I was just trying to get low coverage; it went to the slot and was kind of bouncing around," McElhinney said. "He was off to the side of the net, and I was aware of him, so I was just trying to get low coverage."
* Zetterberg controlled the puck at the Maple Leafs blue line and carried it into the zone, getting around defenseman Andrea Borgman. He rounded the net and put it past McElhinney, who could not slide across in time."When you look at the way he played at the end of last year, we have all the reasons in the world to have confidence in him because he's proven he can play great, and he played great again tonight. It goes a long way when you have that faith in a guy like him; he comes out and gets a huge win for us on a back-to-back against a team within our division." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly on Curtis McElhinney
"Is that what we are? Yeah, that's great to see. It's still October, so we can't get too ahead of ourselves here, we understand that there's a lot of good teams that we have to play and it's not going to be this loose for long." -- Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri on having the best record in the NHL


Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau played his 1,500th NHL game, the 18th player to do so. … Rielly's assist on Hyman's goal was his 100th in the NHL. He has six in seven games this season. … Toronto has won six of its first seven games for the seventh time in its 100-year history.