(File Photo: Source for Photo: New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30), watches as Pittsburgh Penguins’ Anthony Mantha (39) skates past him with teammates after Mantha scored a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Mantha had two goals and an assist, Rickard Rakell scored twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied to defeat the New York Islanders 8-3 on Monday night in a crucial game in the competitive Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Penguins trailed 3-1 midway through the second period before scoring four times in less than 6 1/2 minutes to take over. Their seventh goal on their 28th shot eight minutes into the third chased Ilya Sorokin, who was done in by porous defense in front of him and relieved by backup David Rittich.

Pittsburgh with the regulation victory leapfrogged New York into second place in the Metropolitan Division, 90 points to 89. The Penguins have eight games left in the regular season compared to seven for the Islanders, who could find themselves outside a spot as early as Tuesday night depending on results of their next game and others in contention in the East.

Returning from a one-game injury absence, Sidney Crosby was one of 15 skaters on his team to register a point in a significant bounce back from losing at home to Dallas without him on Saturday. Longtime running mate Evgeni Malkin missed a fourth consecutive game and is considered day to day.

The Islanders are relatively healthy, but their details were sorely lacking in blowing a multigoal lead and doing so in stunning fashion. They had allowed seven goals in their previous four games combined, with Hall of Fame goaltender coach Patrick Roy preaching a 0-0 mindset and relying on Sorokin to make up for any mistakes.

Even Sorokin could not compensate against the Penguins, who got solid goaltending from Arturs Silovs.

Up next

Penguins: Stuart Skinner is expected to start Tuesday night at home against the Detroit Red Wings.

Islanders: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, with Sorokin potentially in line to get the nod again.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) blocks a shot with Connor Clifton (75) defending as Dallas Stars’ Matt Duchene (95) looks for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his return from injured reserve and the Dallas Stars pulled away from the undermanned Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Saturday.

Jason Robertson reached the 40-goal plateau for the third time in his career and assisted on Rantanen’s goal with a slick cross-ice feed to the right circle that Rantanen — who hadn’t played since getting hurt on Feb. 20 while playing for Team Finland at the Milan Cortina Olympics — powered past Stuart Skinner for his first NHL tally since Feb. 2.

Mavrik Bourque scored a pair of empty-net goals late after the Penguins had pulled within one. Justin Hryckowian and Lian Bichsel also scored for the Stars, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Jake Oettinger stopped just nine shots, but that was enough to improve to 7-1 in his career against the Penguins.

Erik Karlsson, Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari scored for Pittsburgh, who played without franchise cornerstones Sidney Crosby (lower body) and Evgeni Malkin (upper body), both of whom coach Dan Muse described as “day to day.”

Skinner, making a second consecutive start following a solid outing in a shootout victory in Ottawa on Thursday, finished with 20 saves but couldn’t stop the Penguins from being leapfrogged by the New York Islanders, who moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division with a victory over Florida earlier Saturday.

Robertson and Rantanen gave the Stars the lead when they scored 3 minutes apart in the second period, each assisting on the other’s goal. When Bichsel’s shot from the point beat Skinner less than two minutes after Rantanen’s marker, Dallas had a two-goal lead.

Up next

Stars travel to Philadelphia on Sunday.

Penguins visit the New York Islanders on Monday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo:Pittsburgh Penguins’ Ben Kindel (81) celebrates his goal during a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Ben Kindel scored the shootout winner to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Rickard Rakell scored twice and had an assist, and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Penguins, who moved into second in the Metropolitan Division.

Drake Batherson scored twice and Nick Cousins also scored for the Senators. Tim Stutzle added two assists.

Both Linus Ullmark and Stuart Skinner made huge saves in overtime to force the shootout.

Pittsburgh opened the third period on the power play with a two-man advantage after Ottawa took a late tripping penalty and got called early too many men. The Penguins capitalized with Rakell scoring his second of the game at 1:43.

Just over two minutes later, the Senators tied the game with Batherson burying a rebound in the crease for his second of the game. Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference but was unsuccessful.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took the opening shift of the second period but left after 38 seconds and did not return.

With an assist on the opening goal, Stutzle picked up his 400th point and became the seventh player, and youngest, in franchise history to hit the milestone.

Up next

Penguins: Host the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Senators: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Bryan Rust (17) is defended by Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal (11) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Seth Jarvis scored on a power play and assisted on two other man-advantage goals as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Sunday.

Sebastian Aho and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored on power plays for the Hurricanes, who beat the league’s best penalty kill team for three goals.

Aho, who scored his 25th goal of the season, became the first player in Hurricanes or Hartford Whalers history with eight 25-goal seasons.

Jalen Chatfield and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won seven of their last 10 games. Carolina has points in 24 of its last 29 games. Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for his fifth straight win. He’s 6-1 in his last seven starts.

Jarvis has a goal and six points in his last three games. Ehlers has six goals and 14 points in his last 11 games.

Egor Chinakhov scored his 16th goal for the Penguins, tying a career high. Bryan Rust assisted on the goal and has for a career-high seven-game point streak. Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots for the Penguins, who have two regulation losses in their last nine games. Pittsburgh has points in 21 of its last 26 games overall.

Pittsburgh and Carolina played for the third time in 13 days. Carolina won the other two games, a 5-4 shootout and 6-5 overtime victory.

The Hurricanes have power-play goals in their last three games. It’s the second time Carolina scored at least three power-play goals in a game after going 4 for 5 in a home game against Florida on Jan. 16.

Aho scored on a power play 47 seconds into the game. His point shot hit Connor Dewar’s stick, went between Jordan Staal’s legs and past Skinner. Ehlers scored Carolina’s second power-play goal at 6:24 of the second. Chatfield gave Carolina a 3-0 lead at 9:15 of the second when his point shot deflected off Chinakhov’s stick and past Skinner.

Jarvis one-timed a pass from Ehlers at the top of the crease for his power-play goal at 17:20 of the second.

Up next

Hurricanes: At Montreal on Tuesday.

Penguins: Host Colorado on Tuesday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell gets the puck past Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck (37) for a goal during the first period in an NHL game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell scored in a shootout and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-4 on Saturday.

Pittsburgh, which is jockeying for playoff positioning, earned an extra point in the shootout for the second time this season. The Penguins have points in seven of their last eight games and 21 of their last 25.

Arturs Silovs, who made 21 saves, stopped Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist in the shootout.

Erik Karlsson scored two goals and has five in his last three games. Karlsson, who has four straight multi-point games, now has seven goals and 19 points in his last 12 games.

Egor Chinakhov earned his 100th NHL point with a goal and Rakell scored to continue a career-best eight-game point streak.

Parker Wotherspoon had two assists, while Bryan Rust, playing in his 700th NHL game, continued a six-game point streak with an assist.

Cole Koepke scored a short-handed goal, while Morgan Barron also scored for the Jets.

Brad Lambert had a goal and an assist, while Neal Pionk scored in his return after missing the last 23 games because of injury.

Connor Hellebuyck, making his 11th start in 12 games, had 26 saves for the Jets, who have lost three straight and five of their last seven games.

Chinakhov and Rakell scored in the first 2:02 of the game for Pittsburgh, but the Jets tied the game at 6:10 of the second period thanks to Koepke’s goal.

Pittsburgh has given up 11 short-handed goals, second-most in the league. The Penguins have allowed short-handed goals in back-to-back games and four this month.

The Jets trailed 3-2 entering the third period, but Pionk tied the game at 4:04 with a shot from the point. Lambert beat Silovs at 8:36 from a distance off the rush. Karlsson forced overtime when he beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Up next

Jets: Visit the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Penguins: Host Carolina on Sunday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho (20) controls the puck in front of Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell (67) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sean Walker scored with 28.3 seconds left in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes beat Pittsburgh 6-5 on Wednesday night, spoiling Sidney Crosby’s return to the Penguins’ lineup.

Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists, Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall and Walker each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Jordan Martinook and K’Andre Miller also scored and Nikolaj Ehlers finished with three assists. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves.

Erik Karlsson had two goals and an assist, Crosby added a goal and an assist, and Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel also scored for Pittsburgh. Stuart Skinner stopped 38 shots in the second matchup in nine nights between the top teams in the Metropolitan Division that went beyond regulation.

Pittsburgh completed a 2-1-2 trip that began with last week’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Eastern Conference- and Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.

Each team scored twice in the final 7:01 of regulation, beginning with Stankoven’s goal and capped by Miller’s score with 2:51 left. In between, Karlsson and Kindel scored in a 23-second span.

Walker’s goal was his third in an eight-game stretch.

After Stankoven’s goal with 7:01 left gave the Hurricanes a 4-3 lead, Karlsson and Kindel scored 23 seconds apart for the Penguins.

Crosby missed 11 games after suffering a lower-body injury while playing for Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics. He logged about 18½ minutes in his return, scoring the Penguins’ first goal midway through the second period. It was his 28th of the season.

Karlsson’s tying goal 59 seconds into the third came on a 5-on-3 power play to begin a period that included seven total goals.

Martinook’s short-handed goal was the only scoring in the first period.

Up next

Penguins: Host Winnipeg on Saturday.

Hurricanes: At Toronto on Friday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, back center, is congratulated after scoring a goal by defenseman Connor Clifton, back left, right wing Rickard Rakell, back right, and defenseman Ryan Shea in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored twice in a four-goal first period and added an assist in his return from a five-game suspension for slashing, sparking the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-2 victory over the league-leading Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.

Malkin’s punishment from the NHL was for raising his stick and striking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on the helmet and shoulder during their game on March 5. The 39-year-old Malkin has been suspended three times in his career.

Anthony Mantha, Elmer Soderblom, Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and Noel Acciari also scored for the Penguins, who matched their season high for goals on just 20 shots while playing for the 11th straight game without star center Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh’s leading scorer, who sustained a lower-body injury while playing for Canada in the Winter Olympics last month, has been skating with the team during this five-game trip that wraps up Wednesday.

Karlsson added two assists and has three goals and 11 assists in his last 10 games for the Penguins, who moved two points ahead of the New York Islanders for sole possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Nathan MacKinnon and Brent Burns scored for the Avalanche, who matched their most goals allowed in a game this season. Scott Wedgewood, the league leader in save percentage and goals-against average, was pulled 13 minutes in after falling behind 3-1 on five shots. Wedgewood was replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 11 saves.

Colorado has lost three of four and leads Dallas in both the Central Division and overall NHL standings by three points. The Avalanche have one game in hand on the Stars.

Up next

Pittsburgh plays at Carolina on Wednesday.

Colorado hosts Dallas on Wednesday.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) shoots the puck on net protected by Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Noel Acciari scored the go-ahead goal at the 8:03 mark of the third period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Utah Mammoth 4-3 on Saturday night.

Acciari won a battle for the puck with Nick Schmaltz and scored on a close-range snap shot to help the Penguins complete a rally from an early two-goal deficit.

Stuart Skinner had 26 saves for Pittsburgh. Bryan Rust, Anthony Mantha and Thomas Novak also scored goals for the Penguins.

Dylan Guenther scored two unassisted goals in a 91-second span during the first period for Utah. Guenther, who leads the Mammoth with 33 goals, became only the second NHL player since the 2018-19 season to score two unassisted goals in less than two minutes.

Ian Cole completed the scoring for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 stops for the Mammoth.

Guenther threaded the puck around Skinner’s skate at the 5:06 mark of the first to get Utah on the board. Then he tapped the puck over the line amid traffic, scoring on a power play at the 6:37 mark of the first to put the Mammoth up 2-0.

Pittsburgh erased the deficit late in the second period. Mantha scored the Penguins’ first power-play goal with 5:12 left in the second. Novak then equalized on a wrist shot with 2:34 remaining in the period.

The Penguins took their first lead at the 1:24 mark of the third when Rust snapped the puck home for a second power-play goal.

Utah equalized on Cole’s 30-foot wrist shot at the 4:17 mark of the third.

Up next

Penguins: at Colorado on Monday night.

Mammoth: at Dallas on Monday night.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev had two goals and an assist and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 on Thursday night.

Vegas, which had lost six of seven, snapped a three-game losing streak that dropped them to third place in the Pacific Division.

With Edmonton losing 7-2 in Dallas earlier in the night, the Golden Knights moved into sole possession of second place. The Penguins remained tied with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.

Clinging to a 3-2 lead after the first two periods, the Golden Knights scored twice on their first four shots of the third on goals from Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel to pull away.

Dorofeyev has a career-high 54 points, two more than last season.

Eichel added an assist to go along with his 24th goal of the season. He has six points in his last six games, and goals in three consecutive games.

Colton Sissons and Mitch Marner also scored for the Golden Knights, and Adin Hill made 24 saves. Marner also had an assist, while rookie Braeden Bowman finished with two assists.

Rickard Rakell and Ben Kindel scored for Pittsburgh, and Arturs Silovs stopped 11 shots.

The Penguins had wins in seven of their previous 10 games against Vegas (7-3-0), including a 5-0 victory in Pittsburgh on March 1, when the Knights lost captain Mark Stone to an upper-body injury.

Stone returned to the lineup Thursday night after a five-game absence.

Up next

Penguins: At Utah on Saturday night.

Golden Knights: Host Chicago on Saturday night.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) covers the puck in front of Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell (67) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jackson Blake converted on the decisive shootout goal and the Carolina Hurricanes recovered after relinquishing a two-goal lead late in regulation to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Mark Jankowski and Seth Jarvis scored 59 seconds apart in Carolina’s three-goal third period and Logan Stankoven and Alexander Nikishin also scored for the Hurricanes, who extended their home-ice points streak to 12 games. Frederik Andersen made 24 saves in the matchup between the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division.

Bryan Rust scored two goals and Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari had the other goals for the Penguins, who began a five-game road trip that also will end in Raleigh. Erik Karlsson and Egor Chinakhov had two assists. Stuart Skinner stopped 39 shots, but he’s without a victory in five outings since Jan. 31. The Penguins are 1-2-2 in their last five games.

Ben Kindel converted in the shootout for the Penguins and Andrei Svechnikov matched that for the Hurricanes before Blake’s tally.

Nikishin, who also had an assist, has nine goals to set a franchise standard for a rookie defenseman when he converted on a 5-on-3 power to play push Carolina’s lead to 4-2 with 8:39 to play.

Acciari and Rust scored in the final 2:08 to force overtime, with Rust’s second goal of the game coming with 35 seconds left. The Hurricanes killed off a Pittsburgh power play in overtime.

Stankoven opened the scoring in Carolina’s first game since a West Coast trip in the first of three meetings between the teams in a 13-day stretch. Mantha’s goal came with 55.7 seconds remaining in the first period.

Rust put the Penguins ahead with a power-play goal in the second period before the wild third period.

Up Next

Penguins: at Vegas on Thursday.

Hurricanes: host St. Louis on Thursday.