(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates a goal on Florida Panthers goalie Daniil Tarasov (40) as defenseman Connor Clifton (75), center Eetu Luostarinen (27) and defenseman Seth Jones (3) skate nearby during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rickard Rakell scored twice, Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Sunday.

The teams faced off Saturday night and the Penguins beat them 9-4, eliminating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.

Rakell scored his first goal for the Penguins with 48 seconds left in the first period on the power play, assisted on by Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. His second came with 1:52 left in the second period.

Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom also scored for the Penguins. Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Schwindt each scored for the Panthers.

Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs stopped 29 shots after tandem mate Stuart Skinner was ruled out with an upper-body injury. Daniil Tarasov allowed five goals on 23 shots in defeat.

Up next

Penguins: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Panthers: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea (5) celebratesa goal with right wing Justin Brazeau (16) and defenseman Samuel Girard (49) against the Florida Panthers during the second period of an NHL game, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had his 14th career hat trick and added an assist to become the 23rd player in NHL history to reach 1,400 career points, and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Florida Panthers 9-4 on Saturday to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff contention.

The Panthers began the season hoping to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to win three straight championships. It never came close to happening as injuries and shaky play in net sent them tumbling to the bottom of the standings early in the season, a hole from which they never fully recovered.

While Florida will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years, Pittsburgh is inching toward a return to the postseason after three straight absences.

The Penguins strengthened their hold on second in the Metropolitan Division by blitzing the Panthers during the first half of the second period, pouring in four goals in less than 10 minutes.

Anthony Mantha broke a 2-2 tie with his 31st goal of the season just 1:51 into the second. Malkin then beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in less than three minutes to create more than enough breathing room.

Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. Noel Acciari and Elmer Soderblom added a goal and an assist. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby picked up a pair of assists to move past Hall of Famer and childhood idol Steve Yzerman and into seventh place on the NHL’s career scoring list (1,756).

Artur Silovs stopped 19 shots for the Penguins and had little work to do after Pittsburgh chased Bobrovsky following Soderblom’s third goal in 15 games since being acquired in a trade with Detroit.

Up next

The teams meet again Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in a rare back-to-back at the same venue.

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli registered his second career hat trick, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division after a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Zemgus Girgensons scored his 100th career goal and Brayden Point scored his second in 14 games for Tampa Bay, which improved to 7-1-2 in the past 10 games. Jake Guentzel and Gage Goncalves both had two assists while Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 21 saves.

Egor Chinakov scored twice and Rickard Rackell also scored for Pittsburgh. Sam Girard and Kris Letang both had two assists and Stuart Skinner finished with 27 saves.

The Penguins remain in second place in the Metropolitan Division, three points ahead of the New York Islanders.

Cirelli scored Tampa Bay’s first two goals and he added an empty-netter for his first hat trick since Jan. 17, 2020.

Cirelli and Rakell traded goals 1:55 apart in the opening seven minutes of the game before Chinakov gave the Penguins their first lead of the game with a backhander from the right circle at 16:10.

Cirelli notched his second of the game 11 seconds into the second, deflecting a puck away from Bryan Rust and racing up ice for a breakaway, lifting a backhand shot over Skinner for a shorthanded marker.

Point put the Lightning back in front at 14:08 on a rebound. Girgensons took a pass from Gourde behind the net, pulled the puck to his forehand as he reached the crease and tucked a backhander into the open part of the net with 54.7 seconds left in the second.

Kucherov made it 5-2 at 13:50 of the third.

Up next

Pittsburgh: Host the Florida Panthers on Saturday

Tampa Bay: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday

 

 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin waits for play to resume in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, March 16, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Egor Chinakov had a goal and an assist, Evgeni Malkin added an assist in his return to the lineup and the Pittsburgh Penguins raced past the sagging Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Tuesday night.

A night after blowing out the New York Islanders on the road, Pittsburgh followed it up with another impressive performance against one of the teams it is trying to fend off for a playoff spot.

Chinakov, Rickard Rakell, and Anthony Mantha scored first-period goals to give the Penguins a massive early cushion that the Red Wings never really threatened to overcome. Justin Brazeau ended a 12-game goal drought, and Stuart Skinner stopped 22 shots for Pittsburgh, which remained in second place in the Metropolitan Division with seven games left in the regular season despite missing veteran forward Bryan Rust, who was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.

Detroit, which was in first place in the Atlantic Division at the season’s midway point, has dropped four of five and remains on the outside of the chase for one of the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots. Dylan Larkin scored to reach the 30-goal plateau for the fifth straight season, but John Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, struggled early and was pulled after the first period while falling to 6-10-1 all-time against his hometown team.

Rakell pushed his point streak to six games when he ripped a shot from the slot that beat Gibson just 4:10 into the first. Rakell has seven goals during his late-season hot streak.

Malkin, who hadn’t played since March 22 due to an upper-body injury, provided a jolt in his return to the lineup. The Russian star was part of a scrum at the Detroit net and somehow helped the puck end up on Mantha’s stick.

Mantha, an 11-year veteran having the finest season of his career, pumped in the rebound 8:34 into the first to make it 2-0. The assist pushed Malkin’s career point total to 1,399.

Chinakov made it 3-0 late in the first when his shot from just outside the left circle slipped by Gibson, and the Penguins cruised from there. The 25-year-old has 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) in 36 games with Pittsburgh after being acquired from Columbus in December.

Up next

Red Wings: At Philadelphia on Thursday.

Penguins: At Tampa Bay on Thursday.

 

 

(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.