Pens @ Boston Bruins 4-8 - Thursday, March 01, 2018
David Krejci had his fourth NHL hat trick, and David Pastrnak scored twice to help the Boston Bruins to an 8-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. It was the most goals the Bruins have scored this season, and the most since they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 8-0 on March 19, 2012. Rick Nash, David Backes and Torey Krug scored, and Tuukka Rask made 22 saves for the Bruins (39-15-8), who have won their past two games and are 4-2-0 in their past six. Boston moved one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division. Krejci's night was exactly what the Bruins planned for when they acquired Nash in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 25 and put him on a line with Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.
"It was one of those games we didn't really do well in any area, didn't deserve to win," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. "There's not much to say about it."
* Krejci's goal at 1:45 of the first period.* Rask's save on Kessel at 10:01 of the second period.
* Krejci's goal at 14:33 of the second period.
* Maatta has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past seven games. ... Krejci's last hat trick was March 4, 2014, against the Florida Panthers. ... Bruins forward Brian Gionta had two assists in his Bruins debut. He signed with Boston as a free agent Sunday. His first assist was the 300th of his NHL career.
"We've all got to be better. I've got to do a better job as their coach to make sure that the details, the focus that's necessary to play the game, is there. I know we're a good hockey team when we play the game the right way. But I think that the reality is there's a fine line between winning and losing. There's a lot of good teams in this league, and they play with structure, they play hard, and we just didn't get it done tonight." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"Awesome, you know, so happy for him. Rick [Nash] is a great player and a big body, you know. So, he gives a lot of space and ice for [Krejci] ... and [Krejci] is an unbelievable player. So glad that those two guys are finding chemistry the past couple games and we got to just keep getting better." -- Bruins forward David Pastrnak
NY Islanders @ Pens 2-3 OT - Saturday, March 03, 2018
Sidney Crosby scored in overtime and Derick Brassard had his first goal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby kept the puck on a 2-on-1 with Justin Schultz before taking a shot through Christopher Gibson's five-hole at 3:48 of overtime. It was his third goal in five games. Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for Pittsburgh (37-25-4, 78 points), which avoided a fourth straight loss and pulled within one point of the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
"We generated a lot of shots, a lot of chances, and didn't give up a ton, so that was important," Crosby said. "But the main thing is to get the two points and try to build off that."
The goal came 33 seconds after Pittsburgh killed a penalty for too many men on the ice. With the Penguins trailing in the third period, Brassard tied it 2-2 at 11:29 when he collected a rebound off a shot from Phil Kessel and backhanded it past Gibson's left pad. It was Brassard's first goal since the Penguins acquired him in a three-team trade with the Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 23.
"Obviously, we were down in the score and we felt like we were playing a pretty good game, shooting 50 times on their goalie and it was a good effort by our team," Brassard said. "We bounced back like that after three straight losses and we just stuck with it."
Kessel got his 400th NHL assist on the goal. Gibson made an NHL career-high 48 saves for New York (29-29-8, 66 points), which has lost six in a row (0-4-2) and is three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"It was great," Gibson said. "I loved every single second of it. I'm really happy with my game except that last goal and the loss there."
Brandon Davidson scored his first goal with the Islanders at 1:11 of the first period. He took a backhand shot from the top of the right face-off circle while Jarry attempted to drift backward to the left post, but he seemed to lose an edge and stumble, allowing New York to take a 1-0 lead.
Patric Hornqvist tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 18:04 of the second period. Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 4:59 of the third period. Lee took a shot that trickled past Jarry and hit Jamie Oleksiak's skate.
"The importance of the game was obviously there," Lee said. "We knew what we needed to do. We had to come away with two points. That third period was a 1-1 game on the road in a tough building against a really good team. We knew what we set out to do and [the goal] was ugly, it was awful, but it was a goal.
"It gave us a lead. It gave us a chance. Obviously 30 minutes later, it was whatever. In overtime, we lose it."
* Crosby's goal at 3:48 of overtime.
* Jarry's save against Nick Leddy at 1:33 of overtime.* Brassard's goal at 11:29 of the third period.* The Islanders are the first team since the 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings to allow 50 or more shots on goal at least five times in the same season. ... Islanders forward Jordan Eberle returned after missing a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday because of soreness. … Islanders forward Casey Cizikas also returned after being with his wife for the birth of their first child Friday. … Kris Letang got his 333rd NHL assist on Crosby's overtime goal, passing Paul Coffey for the most by a Penguins defenseman.
"We wanted to accomplish a goal [in overtime], so obviously we didn't accomplish that. We didn't shoot the puck enough. … Guys were staying out [on the ice]. You have to be a team. You have to roll it over and give someone else a chance." -- Islanders coach Doug Weight
"I liked our team game tonight. I thought we had the puck an awful lot. We generated a significant amount of scoring chances. I thought we controlled territory. … There were a lot of things to like about our game." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
The goal came 33 seconds after Pittsburgh killed a penalty for too many men on the ice. With the Penguins trailing in the third period, Brassard tied it 2-2 at 11:29 when he collected a rebound off a shot from Phil Kessel and backhanded it past Gibson's left pad. It was Brassard's first goal since the Penguins acquired him in a three-team trade with the Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 23.
"Obviously, we were down in the score and we felt like we were playing a pretty good game, shooting 50 times on their goalie and it was a good effort by our team," Brassard said. "We bounced back like that after three straight losses and we just stuck with it."
Kessel got his 400th NHL assist on the goal. Gibson made an NHL career-high 48 saves for New York (29-29-8, 66 points), which has lost six in a row (0-4-2) and is three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Brandon Davidson scored his first goal with the Islanders at 1:11 of the first period. He took a backhand shot from the top of the right face-off circle while Jarry attempted to drift backward to the left post, but he seemed to lose an edge and stumble, allowing New York to take a 1-0 lead.
Patric Hornqvist tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 18:04 of the second period. Anders Lee gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 4:59 of the third period. Lee took a shot that trickled past Jarry and hit Jamie Oleksiak's skate.
"The importance of the game was obviously there," Lee said. "We knew what we needed to do. We had to come away with two points. That third period was a 1-1 game on the road in a tough building against a really good team. We knew what we set out to do and [the goal] was ugly, it was awful, but it was a goal.
"It gave us a lead. It gave us a chance. Obviously 30 minutes later, it was whatever. In overtime, we lose it."
* Crosby's goal at 3:48 of overtime.
* Jarry's save against Nick Leddy at 1:33 of overtime.* Brassard's goal at 11:29 of the third period.* The Islanders are the first team since the 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings to allow 50 or more shots on goal at least five times in the same season. ... Islanders forward Jordan Eberle returned after missing a 6-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday because of soreness. … Islanders forward Casey Cizikas also returned after being with his wife for the birth of their first child Friday. … Kris Letang got his 333rd NHL assist on Crosby's overtime goal, passing Paul Coffey for the most by a Penguins defenseman.
"We wanted to accomplish a goal [in overtime], so obviously we didn't accomplish that. We didn't shoot the puck enough. … Guys were staying out [on the ice]. You have to be a team. You have to roll it over and give someone else a chance." -- Islanders coach Doug Weight
"I liked our team game tonight. I thought we had the puck an awful lot. We generated a significant amount of scoring chances. I thought we controlled territory. … There were a lot of things to like about our game." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Calgary Flames @ Pens 3-4 OT - Monday, March 05, 2018
Justin Schultz scored at 2:36 of overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames at PPG Paints Arena. Schultz one-timed a pass from Phil Kessel into an open net from the left circle.
"It was a tough game there," Schultz said. "[The Flames are] a good team. They're playing hard, obviously. They're trying to fight for a playoff spot. So, it was a tough game. I thought we were just average tonight. We didn't play our best, but we found a way to get the two points."
Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, and Tristan Jarry made 35 saves for Pittsburgh (38-25-4), which moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins trail the Washington Capitals by one point for first. Jarry has stopped 60 of 65 shots in two straight starts in place of Matt Murray, who missed a fourth consecutive game with a concussion.
"Like every position we have, performance is always going to be the dictator," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The guys that play well are going to tend to get more of the ice time. Tristan has had a couple of pretty strong starts. I thought he was solid tonight. He made some real quality saves at key times that allowed us to get the win."
"The pucks were kind of bouncing all night on me," Gillies said. "So, kind of fighting the puck. But at the end of the day, wish I could have made more saves, but got a point out of it from a really good team game and hopefully we can get a win on Wednesday."
Chad Ruhwedel shot past Gillies' blocker to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 2:10 of the first period before Malkin extended the lead to 2-0 when he scored off a turnover 55 seconds later. Malkin used his stick to knock down Gillies' pass along the end boards and shot into an open net before Gillies could get back in the crease. Mark Giordano scored on a wrist shot at 6:14 to cut it to 2-1. Mikael Backlund tied it 2-2 at 10:18. After receiving a pass from Michael Frolik, Backlund dragged the puck around Kris Letang before deking Jarry and scoring on a backhand.
"I thought we played a good game," Backlund said. "It was a tight game. After the first, I thought we were a better team than in the first. … It was a tight game all the way until the end. Obviously, we wanted two points, but we'll take the one and we need two big wins here on the road."
Letang gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 17:01 of the second period. Malkin carried the puck up ice before passing to Letang, who shot over Gillies' shoulder from the right circle.
Troy Brouwer tied it 3-3 with 2.4 seconds left in the second, scoring from in front of the net after T.J. Brodie passed through Ruhwedel's legs above the crease.
* Schultz's goal at 2:36 of overtime.
* Jarry's save on Dougie Hamilton at 1:37 of overtime.* Backlund's goal at 10:18 of the first period.* Schultz has four goals in 48 games after scoring 12 in 78 last season. … Flames forward Micheal Ferland returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury. He had one shot in 11:13. … The Penguins are 11-4 in overtime this season, including 10-1 in Pittsburgh. Their 10 home overtime wins are a franchise record. … Jarry (12-5-2) leads the NHL in wins by a rookie goaltender. … Malkin, who has 81 points (37 goals, 44 assists), tied Ron Francis for the fourth most 80-point seasons in Penguins history with five. He trails Mario Lemieux (11), Sidney Crosby (eight) and Jaromir Jagr (eight).
"I think the game was played back-and-forth. In the third, they were searching for a goal and to get the game. We finished the period really strong. We had so many scoring chances at the end. We could've taken the game there." -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang
"Didn't get off to the start that we wanted. A couple goals there. I thought our response, though, right after, was really good. It showed a lot of character and resilience. I thought from then on, we had a pretty good road game." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan
Pens @ Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 - Wednesday, March 07, 2018Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, and Tristan Jarry made 35 saves for Pittsburgh (38-25-4), which moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins trail the Washington Capitals by one point for first. Jarry has stopped 60 of 65 shots in two straight starts in place of Matt Murray, who missed a fourth consecutive game with a concussion.
"Like every position we have, performance is always going to be the dictator," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The guys that play well are going to tend to get more of the ice time. Tristan has had a couple of pretty strong starts. I thought he was solid tonight. He made some real quality saves at key times that allowed us to get the win."
"The pucks were kind of bouncing all night on me," Gillies said. "So, kind of fighting the puck. But at the end of the day, wish I could have made more saves, but got a point out of it from a really good team game and hopefully we can get a win on Wednesday."
Chad Ruhwedel shot past Gillies' blocker to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 2:10 of the first period before Malkin extended the lead to 2-0 when he scored off a turnover 55 seconds later. Malkin used his stick to knock down Gillies' pass along the end boards and shot into an open net before Gillies could get back in the crease. Mark Giordano scored on a wrist shot at 6:14 to cut it to 2-1. Mikael Backlund tied it 2-2 at 10:18. After receiving a pass from Michael Frolik, Backlund dragged the puck around Kris Letang before deking Jarry and scoring on a backhand.
"I thought we played a good game," Backlund said. "It was a tight game. After the first, I thought we were a better team than in the first. … It was a tight game all the way until the end. Obviously, we wanted two points, but we'll take the one and we need two big wins here on the road."
Letang gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 17:01 of the second period. Malkin carried the puck up ice before passing to Letang, who shot over Gillies' shoulder from the right circle.
Troy Brouwer tied it 3-3 with 2.4 seconds left in the second, scoring from in front of the net after T.J. Brodie passed through Ruhwedel's legs above the crease.
* Schultz's goal at 2:36 of overtime.
* Jarry's save on Dougie Hamilton at 1:37 of overtime.* Backlund's goal at 10:18 of the first period.* Schultz has four goals in 48 games after scoring 12 in 78 last season. … Flames forward Micheal Ferland returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury. He had one shot in 11:13. … The Penguins are 11-4 in overtime this season, including 10-1 in Pittsburgh. Their 10 home overtime wins are a franchise record. … Jarry (12-5-2) leads the NHL in wins by a rookie goaltender. … Malkin, who has 81 points (37 goals, 44 assists), tied Ron Francis for the fourth most 80-point seasons in Penguins history with five. He trails Mario Lemieux (11), Sidney Crosby (eight) and Jaromir Jagr (eight).
"I think the game was played back-and-forth. In the third, they were searching for a goal and to get the game. We finished the period really strong. We had so many scoring chances at the end. We could've taken the game there." -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang "Didn't get off to the start that we wanted. A couple goals there. I thought our response, though, right after, was really good. It showed a lot of character and resilience. I thought from then on, we had a pretty good road game." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan
The Pittsburgh Penguins moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center."There's a lot of hockey still to be played," Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. "… It'll be tight all the way to the end but it was good to get two points tonight, big divisional game. We'll have more the rest of the season here."
Crosby had three assists to reach 1,100 NHL points for Pittsburgh (39-25-4), which won its third straight game and moved one point ahead of the Washington Capitals. Conor Sheary scored two goals, and Evgeni Malkin and Jamie Oleksiak each had a goal and an assist. Phil Kessel scored, and Tristan Jarry made 26 saves. Jakub Voracek and Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia (34-22-11), which lost its fourth straight game (0-3-1). Petr Mrazek made 23 saves. The Flyers are third in the division, two points behind the Capitals and three points behind the Penguins. Sheary's goals were his first in 16 games and were part of a three-goal burst in the second period that gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead.
"If you look at all the goals throughout my career you're not going to find many where I'm dangling a defenseman or even beating a goalie with a nice shot," Sheary said. "A lot of times I'll find those loose pucks in front of the net. I had to get back to that and I found a couple tonight. It's a hard area to go to but I think I was getting away from that a little bit and I think I got back to that a little bit tonight."
"[Sheary] works so hard, he goes to tough areas," Crosby said. "Doesn't always come to you there but he continues to go there. Great example on the two goals he had. He works hard and it was great to see him get rewarded tonight."
After Kessel gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 1:25 remaining in the first period, the Flyers took a 2-1 lead on goals by Voracek (2:07) and Konecny (5:59) of the second period. But the Flyers weren't able to maintain the momentum.
"I think they just took advantage of the opportunities they got," Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald said. "Odd-man rush and they got pucks to the net. Our coverage was a little bit soft on a few occasions in the second and they took advantage and they capitalized."
"Power play was [poor] tonight and it's frustrating," Flyers forward Claude Giroux said. "We did a good job of drawing those penalties and gaining momentum and it wasn't good."
Malkin scored into an empty net with 1:41 left in the third for a 5-2 lead.
* Sheary's goal at 14:25 of the second period.
* Jarry's save on Scott Laughton at 3:34 of the third period.* Kessel's goal with 1:25 remaining in the first period.* Penguins forward Bryan Rust left in the first period because of an upper-body injury, and forward Dominik Simon left during the second because of a lower-body injury. Coach Mike Sullivan said he hoped to have more information Thursday. … Kessel played his 900th NHL game. His goal gave him seven points (two goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. … Oleksiak's goal was upheld after a review for goaltender interference. … Crosby had his 96th three-point game, most of any player in the NHL since 2005-06. … Simmonds returned after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. He had three shots on goal and was minus-4 in 19:26.
"It's a nice number, that's how you look at it, it's great to get it. As far as the game though it's nice to get it in a win." -- Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, on reaching 1,100 points in the NHL.
"[Sheary] works so hard, he goes to tough areas," Crosby said. "Doesn't always come to you there but he continues to go there. Great example on the two goals he had. He works hard and it was great to see him get rewarded tonight."
After Kessel gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 1:25 remaining in the first period, the Flyers took a 2-1 lead on goals by Voracek (2:07) and Konecny (5:59) of the second period. But the Flyers weren't able to maintain the momentum.
"I think they just took advantage of the opportunities they got," Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald said. "Odd-man rush and they got pucks to the net. Our coverage was a little bit soft on a few occasions in the second and they took advantage and they capitalized."
"Power play was [poor] tonight and it's frustrating," Flyers forward Claude Giroux said. "We did a good job of drawing those penalties and gaining momentum and it wasn't good."
Malkin scored into an empty net with 1:41 left in the third for a 5-2 lead.
* Sheary's goal at 14:25 of the second period.
* Jarry's save on Scott Laughton at 3:34 of the third period.* Kessel's goal with 1:25 remaining in the first period.* Penguins forward Bryan Rust left in the first period because of an upper-body injury, and forward Dominik Simon left during the second because of a lower-body injury. Coach Mike Sullivan said he hoped to have more information Thursday. … Kessel played his 900th NHL game. His goal gave him seven points (two goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. … Oleksiak's goal was upheld after a review for goaltender interference. … Crosby had his 96th three-point game, most of any player in the NHL since 2005-06. … Simmonds returned after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. He had three shots on goal and was minus-4 in 19:26.
"It's a nice number, that's how you look at it, it's great to get it. As far as the game though it's nice to get it in a win." -- Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, on reaching 1,100 points in the NHL.
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