NHL - Hawks @ Leafs 3-4 OT - Monday, October 09, 2017

Auston Matthews scored at 3:43 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs their third straight win, 4-3 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs (3-0-0) scored twice in the third period to tie it after trailing 3-1.

"As the game went on, we got better and better," Matthews said. "That's the way we want to play. We were up against a pretty good hockey team, they're a team that knows how to win. When you get into these tight games, it's definitely a matter of inches so it's definitely a big win for us as far as confidence goes and we just want to keep this momentum going."

Connor Brown made it 3-2 with 7:00 left, scoring his first goal of the season on a wrist shot from the high slot. James van Riemsdyk deflected a shot by Tyler Bozak past Anton Forsberg with 4:18 left to tie it 3-3.

"I thought we had some good chances, they're definitely a good team where there always seems to be somebody around you getting a stick on it or a guy in the lane you have to shoot around," van Riesmdyk said. "They make you earn your chances and when you get them you really have to bear down."
Richard Panik put Chicago (2-0-1) ahead 3-1 at 7:52 of the third when he scored a power-play goal, putting in a rebound off the end-boards from Gustav Forsling's point shot.
"We had the lead and they're playing catching up and they're pressing and they have some skill," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They were forcing some plays and they got a lot of loose pucks, we didn't make them turn in the second period and that's where they started getting momentum. They've got some guys with speed off the rush. Their rush game is something you have to give them credit for, it was quick for us."

The Blackhawks scored twice in the first period. Jan Rutta made it 1-0 at 3:46 when his centering pass deflected off Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner at the top of the goal crease. Jonathan Toews put a scored 4:11 later to make it 2-0. 

Nikita Zaitsev made it 2-1 at 10:20 of the second period when he caught Patrick Kane standing still at the blueline and pinched into the slot, taking a cross-ice pass from Brown and putting a wrist shot past Forsberg's blocker. Andersen allowed three goals on 21 shots. Forsberg made 39 saves in his Chicago debut.

Goal of the game

Matthews skated in on the left wing and put a wrist shot over Forsberg's glove for his second goal of the season.

Save of the game

Matthews held onto the puck on a 2-on-1 with William Nylander and dragged it around Blackhawks defenseman Michal Kempny before taking a wrist shot that Forsberg stopped with his blocker to keep the score 2-0 at 15:30 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner had his pass slowed up behind the net by Andersen's stick. Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad put the puck in front where Panik was stopped by Andersen. Toews flipped the rebound into the net over Andersen's glove.

They said it

"They're good, they're really good. We gave up a ton of chances tonight, uncharacteristic of us but they've got some amazing players. They're dangerous, give them credit." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the Maple Leafs 

"Probably the biggest reason why we got a point out of it." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on Anton Forsberg's performance

"Absolutely, I feel like that's a big part of my game and I feel like I can do that. When you get the ball rolling, it's nice." -- Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown on contributing on offense 
Need to know
Matthews overtime goal was the second of his NHL career. His previous overtime goal came on Jan 1, 2017, a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic. Maple Leafs defenseman Calle Rosen had his first NHL point by assisting on Zaitsev's goal. 

NHL - NY Rangers @ Leafs 5-8 - Saturday, October 07, 2017

Tyler Bozak scored the tiebreaking goal at 7:17 of the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Rangers 8-5 at Air Canada Centre.

The Rangers challenged that the goal was offside but it was upheld upon review, and New York received a two-minute penalty. Leo Komarov scored on the power play to give Toronto a 7-5 lead at 9:52. Nazem Kadri made it 8-5 with a power-play goal at 18:30. The Maple Leafs (2-0-0) built a 5-1 first-period lead but the Rangers (0-2-0) scored three times in the second to tie it 5-5.

"I thought we had a much better third. The first period, structurally we played good, really worked and we had the puck," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "In the second period, I don't know what we were doing; we got away from our game. That's the way sports should be: When you don't do things right, you shouldn't have success, and we didn't. The way I look at it, we've played two home openers now, found a way to survive in both of them and win the game."

New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals on 17 shots in the first period. He was replaced by Ondrej Pavelec to start the second period, and Pavelec allowed three goals on 24 shots. Kevin Shattenkirk scored his first goal with the Rangers on the power play with 23 seconds left in the first period to make it 5-2. Mika Zibanejad made it 5-3 at 7:43 of the second on the power play when he shot past goalie Frederik Andersen, who was screened by Chris Kreider. Marc Staal deflected a shot from the slot to make it 5-4 at 12:14. 

Mats Zuccarello tied it 5-5 at 14:06. The goal was upheld after it was reviewed to determine whether Zuccarello deflected the puck with a high stick.

Dominic Moore put Toronto ahead 1-0 at 2:30 of the first period, but J.T. Miller scored 1:12 later to tie it 1-1. Zach Hyman made it 2-1 at 5:34 with his first of two goals in the period. Jake Gardiner scored a power-play goal at 11:07 to make it 3-1, and Nikita Zaitsev put a point shot past Lundqvist's blocker at 13:59 for a 4-1 lead. Hyman made it 5-1 at 17:19.

"It was a pretty crazy game, 8-5," Hyman said. "You don't want to be in a game like that, you want to have it low-scoring and play well defensively, but offensively things were clicking for us. It's good to get another win for sure."

Andersen made 30 saves to win his second consecutive game to start the season.

Goal of the game

Bozak was left uncovered in the slot, took a pass from defenseman Jake Gardiner behind the net and flipped the puck over Pavelec's glove to break the 5-5 tie.

Save of the game

Andersen slid across to make a toe save 24 seconds into the third period, after Rangers forward Rick Nash set up Miller with a cross-crease pass.

Highlight of the game

Hyman split the Rangers defense but was his shot was stopped by Lundqvist. New York defenseman Tony DeAngelo got the puck behind the net but turned it over in the slot. Hyman skated in alone on Lundqvist and fooled him with a deke before sliding it past his glove.

They said it

"The first period we were all over them, didn't give them any space, and kind of got away from that. If you're winning a game, there's a tendency to think you can just play run-and-gun hockey, and that's not the case. We're going to have to kind of regroup and know that we can't do that again." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner

Need to know

Zuccarello (goal, three assists) had his first four-point game in the NHL. He is the first Rangers player with five points in the first two games of a season since Bernie Nicholls in 1990-91. … Ron Hainsey assisted on Zaitsev's goal for his first point with the Maple Leafs. ... Moore went 9-for-9 on face-offs.

NHL - Pens - Western Canadian Tour - November 2017

Pens @ Edmonton Oilers 3-2 - Wednesday, November 01, 2017


Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal with 7:37 left in the third period, and Matt Murray made 35 saves for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. Patric Hornqvist and Conor Sheary scored for Pittsburgh (8-5-1), and Phil Kessel and Kris Letang each had two assists. The Penguins had lost two in a row.

"For the whole team, this was a big effort for us," Hornqvist said. "We all played really hard. We went back to the old school, winning one-on-one battles out there. When we do that, we have a good team, and obviously the power play helped us to win the game."
Sheary tied it 2-2 with 22 seconds left in the second period on a pass from Sidney Crosby in front, seconds after Edmonton center Connor McDavid just missed tipping in a centering pass from Patrick Maroon on the rush against Murray. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scored for Edmonton (3-7-1). McDavid had two assists, and Cam Talbot made 27 saves.

"This one is pretty hard to swallow right now," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We were right there the whole game. There wasn't much separating us. If anything, I thought we outplayed them a little bit."

Hornqvist scored on the power play 56 seconds into the second period to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead, tipping a point shot from Letang past Talbot.

Nugent-Hopkins tied it 1-1 on the power play at 6:36. Maroon swept a rebound off the end boards to Nugent-Hopkins in front. Draisaitl gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead at 7:26. The puck bounced to McDavid at the left face-off circle and he stepped around defenseman Olli Maatta before making a backhand pass to Draisaitl.

"We haven't been good at holding that lead," McDavid said. "We have to find a way to switch those timely goals around. I thought we generated a bit of momentum on the power play and had some good chances. It's something to build off of, I guess."
Malkin gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead, finishing a pass from Kessel on a rush.
"Edmonton's a good hockey team, they've got a lot of offensive weapons, they're a dangerous team off the rush in particular," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought, for the most part, we had a pretty solid effort 5-on-5."

Edmonton outshot Pittsburgh 11-6 in the third period and had two late opportunities to tie the game. Murray made a save on Maroon on a rebound with 56 seconds left, and another on Nugent-Hopkins with 13 seconds remaining. A few seconds prior to Nugent-Hopkins' chance, Hornqvist and Crosby missed an opportunity to score into an empty net.

"When you're going down, you don't really know how much time is left on the clock," Crosby said. "You're kind of hoping that it ticks down before they get back in our end. But we just couldn't find a way to put it in, and they've got time, they're quick, and they're waiting for that chance to come back the other way."
Edmonton has lost two straight and four of its past five (1-3-1).
"We just have to find ways to win hockey games right now," Maroon said. "We are not winning them, and we can sit here and talk about what we need to do, but enough is enough, and we just have to find ways to win these games."

Goal of the game
Malkin's goal at 12:23 of the third period.

Save of the game

Murray's save on Nugent-Hopkins with 13 seconds left in the third period.

Highlight of the game

McDavid's pass to set up Draisaitl's goal at 7:26 of the second period.

They said it

"We're working our tails off every night, that's not the issue. It's just little subtle mistakes here and there, little lapses in judgment, and that's been hurting us. Tonight we tried to stay on our toes and just play an overall solid game and I think we did that." -- Penguins goaltender Matt Murray
 
Need to know
Nugent-Hopkins scored his 100th NHL goal in his 406th game. … McDavid has seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games against Pittsburgh but has yet to win against the Penguins, including a 2-1 overtime loss on Oct. 24. … Pittsburgh has won its past five games in Edmonton.

Pens @ Calgary Flames 1-2 OT - Thursday, November 02, 2017


Mark Giordano scored 2:19 into overtime, and Mike Smith made 43 saves to help the Calgary Flames to a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Saddledome. Giordano took a cross-ice pass from Matthew Tkachuk and lifted a shot short side over goalie Tristan Jarry's shoulder.

"I think everyone thought [Tkachuk] was coming back with that puck at center. I did, I know that," Giordano said. "He made a good move on two of their players, got two of them caught. The actual play to cut in and draw another guy to him … he has a knack for those big-time plays. I was happy to be able to bury that one for him."

Sean Monahan scored for the Flames (7-6-0), who are 2-1-0 on a seven-game homestand.
"When you win those low-scoring games, there's a lot of battles that go throughout the game … blocked shots and faceoffs and little things. I think everyone's playing their role right now and when we're doing that, we're winning," Monahan said.

Patric Hornqvist scored with 1:12 left in the third period, and Jarry made 32 saves in his first start of the season for the Penguins (8-5-2). Pittsburgh are 0-4-1 and has been outscored 31-8 in the second of back-to-back games this season.

"This is one of the better games that we played, back-to-back or no back-to-back," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "This is definitely the best game we've played on this trip. We probably deserved a better fate. We liked a lot of our game tonight."
Monahan scored when he centered a rebound on Johnny Gaudreau's shot off Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin and into the net to give the Flames a 1-0 lead at 15:53 of the third period. Hornqvist tied the game 1-1 when he deflected Kris Letang's point shot past Smith. Jarry was on the bench for the extra attacker.
"To be able to tie it up was good," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get it done in overtime."
Smith made 19 saves in the first period, including a glove save on Hornqvist's shot from a sharp angle on the power play at 10:23, and a left pad save on Carl Hagelin's partial breakaway at 12:38.
"As a goalie you're standing back there and you can't really control what happens in front of you, so there's no sense in worrying about the shot clock," Smith said. "You just worry about the next save. I know it's cliché coming from a goalie, but it's the truth."Jarry made 14 saves in the second, including Dougie Hamilton's initial shot from the high slot at 3:28 and his second opportunity at 3:32, and a pad save on Monahan's wrist shot from the high slot with five seconds remaining in the period.
"I thought he played really well," Crosby said. "I think that with the forwards they have and the skill level of the power play that they have, he was tested and did a great job for us and gave us a chance to win."

Goal of the game
Giordano's goal at 2:19 of overtime.

Save of the game

Smith against Conor Sheary 28 seconds into overtime.

Highlight of the game

Hornqvist's goal at 18:48 of the third period.

They said it

"When you're in that kind of game, I think you just don't pass up shots and try to make sure that you're finishing on net. It's kind of a race to that first one most times. In this case, we were able to tie it up. Pretty tight hockey game. Both goalies played well. We've just got to find ways to win those." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
Need to know
Letang has five assists in his past four games. … Gaudreau has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past eight games. … Flames forward Jaromir Jagr missed his fifth straight game because of a lower-body injury.

Pens @ Vancouver Canucks 2-4 - Saturday, November 04, 2017


Brock Boeser scored his first NHL hat trick, including the game-winning goal, and had an assist to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Arena. After Greg McKegg tied it 2-2 at 4:49 of the third period for the Penguins, Boeser scored his third goal 1:07 later to restore the lead. The 20-year-old rookie forward took a back pass from Bo Horvat, cut left into the high slot and beat Matt Murray with a wrist shot over the glove.

"When they tied the game, we didn't have any panic. We knew we had to keep putting our foot on the pedal," Boeser said. "It's special being my first hat trick, but just against the Stanley Cup champions and those types of guys, it makes it a little more special."
Boeser leads the Canucks with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) through their first 13 games despite being a healthy scratch for the first two and missing a third with a bruised foot.

"He can shoot the puck and he's in the right spot at the right time," Horvat said.
Playing mostly against the Penguins' top line of Sidney Crosby, Connor Sheary and Patric Hornqvist, Vancouver's top line of Boeser, Horvat and Sven Baertschi combined for four goals and seven assists.

The Canucks had scored one goal in their previous two games, home losses to the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils.

"The last two games before this we were hurting for goals," said Horvat, who scored with 3:21 left in the third period and had three assists. "To finally get rewarded for our chances felt great."
Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves, and Baertschi had three assists for the Canucks (7-4-2).
"If [Markstrom] wasn't as sharp as he was we weren't going to win," Vancouver coach Travis Green said.
The same was true of his young top line of Boeser, Baertschi (25), and Horvat (22).
"As I keep playing with Bo and Sven we keep gaining chemistry. I feel more confident each game," Boeser said. "We play quick and we create turnovers. That's how we create chances."
Jake Guentzel scored, and Murray made 17 saves for the Penguins (8-6-2), who went 1-3-1 on their season-high five-game road trip after starting the season 7-3-1.

"We did some good things," said Crosby, who had an assist but was minus-3. "It could easily have been two or three nothing in the first period, then maybe it's a different game. We still have to find ways to not allow those big chances they ended up converting. There's kind of two sides to it. We'd like to convert on those chances and if we're not, we have to find ways to keep the puck out of our net."

Guentzel made it 1-0 on a power play 2:53 into the first period with a backdoor tap-in after a passing play that started with a between-the-legs feed from Crosby to Phil Kessel. Boeser tied it at 7:07 of the first period and put Vancouver ahead 2-1 7:14 into the second after a Horvat backhand pass from near the end boards to Baertschi in the slot. Baertschi kicked the puck over to Boeser, who was coming out from behind the net on Murray's right and scored into an open net behind the goalie from a sharp angle.

Goal of the game
Boeser's first goal at 7:07 of the first period.

Save of the game

Markstrom's save on Kessel with 6:12 left in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Markstrom's glove save on Kessel 3:34 into the second period.

They said it

"We didn't give up a significant amount of scoring chances. I thought we generated a fair amount of scoring chances. We are a little bit snakebitten right now. The puck isn't going in the net for us." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
Need to know

Pittsburgh played its NHL-leading 11th game on the road, where it is 4-6-1. … Murray hadn't given up a goal to the Canucks in his two previous starts against them, both last season. … Vancouver forwards Henrik Sedin (8:52) and Daniel Sedin (8:38) each had a season low in ice time.

NHL - Pens @ Jets 1-7 - Sunday, October 29, 2017

Blake Wheeler had a hat trick in a record-setting first period to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 7-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Bell MTS Place.Wheeler's hat trick was the first to be scored in the first period in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history.

"It felt really good to get the win, that's it," Wheeler said. "We're going to score goals. Ultimately though, we're worried about playing the right way. Playing fast. Trying to lead with the way we play and with that comes some scoring chances and we're going to score on our fair share.

"It's all about getting two points [in the standings]. We have every guy pushing in that direction."
The Jets set a franchise record with five goals in the first period. Wheeler scored three times in 4:20, breaking the previous Winnipeg/Atlanta record held by Ilya Kovalchuk, who had a hat trick for the Thrashers in 6:51 during the second period of an 8-4 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 15, 2009. In the same span, the Jets scored the quickest four goals in franchise history, breaking the previous record of 4:54 set by the Thrashers in a 7-6 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 13, 2005. Three of those goals came in 34 seconds, faster than the previous Winnipeg/Atlanta record of 59 seconds set by the Thrashers in a 5-4 loss at the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 2, 2008.
Brendan Lemieux scored his first NHL goal, and Andrew Copp, Joel Armia and Mark Scheifele each had a goal for Winnipeg (5-3-2). Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for his fifth win.

"It feels great," Lemieux said. "Obviously, really fortunate to have been able to get one and really excited. Every day I'm up here has been a blessing and I'm just trying to run with it."
Evgeni Malkin scored for Pittsburgh (7-5-1). Matt Murray allowed four goals on nine shots and was pulled in the first period. Casey Desmith made 12 saves in his NHL debut.

Copp scored his first of the season at 1:20 of the first period to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Wheeler made it 2-0 at 13:58. Scheifele found Wheeler with a backhand pass in the neutral zone, and Wheeler went forehand to backhand and slid it under Murray.

"Our starts, you look at all those, we get scored on early and teams build on that," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "It's not like we're giving up one in the first, we're giving up a bunch and in this case, five. We've been here before, we've got to find a way to fix it."
Wheeler scored his second of the game at 17:44 to make it 3-0, and Armia scored 23 seconds later to give the Jets a 4-0 lead at 18:07, prompting Penguins coach Mike Sullivan to replace Murray with Desmith. But Wheeler completed his hat trick 11 seconds later at 18:18, scoring on the first shot Desmith faced.

"I was kind of like, 'Oh, this is happening, this is going to be the ol' debut here,'" Desmith said. "Then I got in there and they scored that shift, first shot, so not ideal."

Malkin scored his fourth goal in his past seven games, a redirect on the power play at 17:02 of the second period to make it 5-1.
Scheifele made it 6-1 on the power play at 10:28 of the third period. Lemieux scored to make it 7-1 at 12:19.

Goal of the game
Wheeler's first goal at 13:58 of the first period.

Save of the game

Hellebuyck stopping Malkin at 11:51 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Wheeler's third goal at 18:18 of the first period.

They said it

"It's disappointing. We talk about doing the right things, we talk about managing the puck the right way, we talk about staying on the right side of people and then we go out and our actions are just the opposite. We turn the puck over a handful of times, we gave up some high-quality chances and they converted. It's hard to win when you play that way." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

"The last three games have all been really good. Going into those buildings against those teams, who are going to be two of the better teams this year, we had every right winning those games too. I think it's a progression. The last week has been pretty good. Like I said, we were able to make the plays tonight that maybe we missed out on in Columbus. If you play the right way, the same way every night, you're going to get scoring chances and we were able to bury them tonight." -- Jets forward Blake Wheeler

Need to know
Malkin has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past seven games. … Jets forward Kyle Connor has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past five games.

NHL - Pens @ Wild 1-2 - Saturday, October 28, 2017

Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves, and Mikko Koivu scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to give the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Xcel Energy Center. Koivu deflected in a pass from Mike Reilly at 9:03 of the third. Minnesota (4-3-2) has won two consecutive games and is 3-1-0 in its past four.

"I think we're starting to show the way we need to play to win hockey games," Koivu said. "… There were some parts of that early on and we just couldn't keep it for 60 minutes. I think, for the most part, for the last two games, we've been able to keep that consistency.
"It's still early, but that's what you want, you want to build on it and keep working on it and that's what brings you success."

It was the first regulation loss for Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray since a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 5. Murray made 27 saves and is 7-1-1 this season. Evegni Malkin scored on the power play at 11:52 of the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Malkin has eight points (three goals, five assists) in the past six games.

Daniel Winnik tied it 1-1 at 13:36, scoring off a rebound from a shot by Matt Cullen, who played his former team for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup twice with them (2016, 2017). Cullen, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Minnesota on Aug. 16, got his second point of the season with the assist. The Penguins (7-4-1) played the first of a five-game road trip; they are at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
"It was a tight game," Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. "I think it could have gone either way. We missed a couple chances, but we have to turn the page and focus on a back-to-back game. This year we're not successful on those, so I think we have to find a way to play a hard road game to get the result."

Goal of the game

Koivu's goal at 9:03 of the third period.

Save of the game

Dubnyk stopped a snap shot by Patric Hornqvist at 14:43 of the third period.
Highlight of the game
Winnik's rebound at 13:36 of the first period.

They said it

"I don't think we're good enough 5-on-5 right now. We tend to be one and done in the offensive zone, and we're not getting to the net enough, we're not winning enough loose-puck battles, and as a result we're not spending enough time there. It's not any one thing. There's no magic bullet to scoring goals 5-on-5, but this team I know has the ability to score goals 5-on-5 because they've done it for a long time. And that's where our game has to improve right now. Special teams for the most part have been pretty solid, and we got another power-play goal tonight. Our penalty kill did a pretty good job. Our overall 5-on-5 game has to improve." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

"Well, I don't know if [beating Pittsburgh] carries [more weight]. ... The most important thing to me is getting the two in a row and getting over .500, albeit it's only one game. We have to start somewhere. It was playing Pittsburgh last year that started us to play like we're capable of playing on a nightly basis. It was a much-needed win." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau
Need to know
Kessel has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the past eight games. … Spurgeon has five points (one goal, four assists) in the past four games. He leads the Wild with seven assists and is tied for first with eight points.

NHL - Jets @ Pens 1-2 OT - Thursday, October 26, 2017

Phil Kessel said he got lucky when he scored 1:07 into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena.It's difficult to luck into 300 NHL goals, though. Kessel scored on a breakaway to reach the milestone in his 843rd game. It was his second overtime goal in the past two games. He is the 18th United States-born player in NHL history to score 300 goals and is one of two active Americans to have reached that mark, joining Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise.
"I've played a decent amount of games in this league," Kessel said. "It's nice to get 300 goals and I'm just happy to help my team win."

The Penguins were tied 1-1 with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday before Kessel scored 42 seconds into overtime. His four goals have him one shy of the Penguins lead behind Sidney Crosby.
"Sometimes you get lucky," Kessel said. "I'm fortunate to get them in."
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave Kessel a bit more credit.
"He can win it and he's shown that," Sullivan said. "He has a knack to score big goals at key times."
Matt Murray, who made 30 saves for the Penguins, has won seven straight starts since allowing 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two games this season. He has allowed one goal each of his past two starts. Connor Hellebuyck was left frustrated with his inability to stop Kessel's last shot despite making 34 saves for Winnipeg (4-3-1)."I have to have that save in overtime. I don't know what I'm thinking," Hellebuyck said. "I almost read it too well. I knew he was going to go five-hole. I'm thinking I'll kick it out, but that's not goaltending. I need to just drop to my butterfly and just make the save like I've been working on all summer, just getting that quick butterfly. So, I overthought it."
Pittsburgh (7-3-1) has won 17 straight home games against the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise since March 24, 2007. The Penguins are 7-2-0 in their past nine games after beginning the season 0-1-1.
Conor Sheary gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead 1:25 into the first period. He entered the Winnipeg zone with Jake Guentzel, who carried the puck through the neutral zone. Guentzel slipped a pass through Tyler Myers that Sheary tipped through Hellebuyck's five-hole for his fifth goal of the season.
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang inadvertently helped erase that lead when Josh Morrissey tied it 1-1 at 9:26 of the first. Bryan Little won a faceoff back to Morrissey, who sent a wrist shot past Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan before Letang tipped it past Murray and into the right corner of the net.
The Jets came close to taking the lead twice late in the second period. Tyler Myers had the first chance when he skated toward Murray and deked left to right, but he was denied by Murray's toe save with 2:50 remaining in the second period. Murray then made a stick save on a Patrik Laine one-timer from just outside the crease 32 seconds later.

Goal of the game

Kessel intercepted a pass from Laine intended for Myers in the slot before racing the length of the ice on a breakaway. He finished it by shooting through Hellebuyck's five-hole.

Save of the game

Laine nearly put the Jets ahead 2-1 when Nikolaj Ehlers backhanded a pass by Letang through the Penguins crease. Laine sent a point-blank one-timer on net, but Murray pushed back to his right to make a stick save with 2:18 remaining in the second period.
Highlight of the game
Crosby had a chance to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead late in the second period when he went on a 2-on-1 with Guentzel facing Ehlers. Crosby elected to keep the puck and had his wrist shot turned away by Hellebuyck with 5:53 remaining in the period.
They said it
"These guys have a target on their back here in Pittsburgh all season so we came in and took a point from them. We had a chance to take two. Didn't work out. Now we go to play another great team in Columbus tomorrow, so we have to come out with the same mentality and same detail." -- Jets forward Matt Hendricks

"I'm just trying to improve every night and feel a little bit better each and every night. I think I've been doing that." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray
Need to know
Hendricks returned from a lower-body injury to make his season debut, and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov returned from a lower-body injury after missing two games. Hendricks, who won 70 percent of his face-offs, and Kulikov each had three blocks. … Kessel is the second player in Penguins history to score an overtime goal in consecutive games, joining forward Aleksey Morozov (2003-04). ... Defenseman Zach Trotman made his Pittsburgh debut in place of defenseman Justin Schultz, who was placed on injured reserve with a concussion. Trotman had two shots in 12:09.

NHL - Pens v Edmonton Oilers 2-1 OT - Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Phil Kessel scored 42 seconds into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at PPG Paints Arena. After failing to convert on a 2-on-1 at 4:02 of the second period, Evgeni Malkin found Kessel again to set up his third goal of the season. Kessel's 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 games have him tied for second, one point behind Malkin, on the Penguins.

"It feels good to get one in there," Kessel said. "I've had some chances and they haven't gone in, but it is what it is. Just keep going."
With Edmonton trailing by one with 2:53 remaining in the third period, Connor McDavid scored for the first time since he had a hat trick in the Oilers season opener against the Calgary Flames to tie it 1-1. He shot over goalie Matt Murray's glove from the left circle. Ian Cole scored for the seventh time in 178 games with the Penguins for a 1-0 lead at 3:24 of the third.

Pittsburgh (6-3-1) has won six of eight games since beginning the season 0-1-1. Edmonton (2-5-1) is 1-5-1 and lost six of seven since winning their season opener on Oct. 4.
McDavid again got the best of Sidney Crosby on the scoresheet when they met for the third time, and first time this season. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in three career NHL games against Pittsburgh, but was frustrated with Edmonton's inability to finish quality opportunities.
"You're happy you're getting chances as a team. You're not happy you're not scoring," McDavid said. "Missing flat-out open nets and it's costing us. … We went through it a little bit last year later in the season, but we just have to relax. Just calm down.
"I mean, we're getting these chances in front of the net that should be automatic and we're not scoring them, myself included."

Crosby has won each of the three games, but has yet to score against the Oilers with McDavid in their lineup.

"We both had some chances," Crosby said. "I wouldn't say it's crazy competitive. We don't play each other that much. We're both trying to create chances and prevent them the other way."
The Oilers could have taken a 1-0 lead at several different points, with the best chances on a power play in the second period. Mark Letestu started a four-second flourish for Edmonton, when he forced Murray to make an improbable stick save at 8:21 before making another stop on Milan Lucic three seconds later. Brian Dumoulin then blocked a shot from McDavid that seemed destined to score into an open net at 8:25.
"I'm going to make that same shot 100 times," Letestu said. "You have to, sometimes, give the goalie credit for the desperation there. He comes up with a big save, but we had a lot of chances around the net where we need some finish. Tonight there were opportunities for it and we didn't get it done."
Murray made 29 saves for Pittsburgh. Cam Talbot made 42 for Edmonton.
Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz left after playing 5:51 in the first period. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Schultz had been diagnosed with a concussion.
Malkin carried the puck down the near wall before sliding a pass through Oscar Klefbom to Kessel, who drifted between the faceoff circles. Kessel sent a snap shot past Talbot for the game-winner.

Save of the game

By turning away Letestu in the second period, Murray could have produced an early candidate for save of the year. With Murray scrambling, Letestu shot through Cole and toward a seemingly open net, but Murray reached back to tip it away with his stick blade.

Highlight of the game

Patrick Maroon helped facilitate McDavid's tying goal with a backhand pass from just inside the red line that sent McDavid into the offensive zone. McDavid slowed near the blue line, freezing Malkin, then sped forward while remaining onside. He collected the puck and shot past Murray just before Chad Ruhwedel could break up the play.

They said it

"He's a dynamic player. He's one of those elite players in the League. He's hard to handle." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on McDavid

"I like the way we played. … They still had some shot barrages around our net that we can clean up." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
Need to know
Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl (concussion) and Drake Caggiula (undisclosed) each returned to the lineup after missing four and fives games, respectively. … Forward Riley Sheahan made his Penguins debut after being acquired, along with a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, from the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. He had one assist after failing to score in eight games with Detroit this season.