PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kris Letang tied Hall of Famer Paul Coffey’s franchise record for career goals by a defenseman, Matt Murray stopped 33 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins held off the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Wednesday night.Letang’s shot from the right circle in the second period beat Andrei Vasilevskiy for his 12th goal of the season and 108th of his career to pull the five-time All-Star even with Coffey, who set the mark while playing for the Penguins from 1987-92.

Riley Sheahan, Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby scored during a first-period outburst by Pittsburgh, which responded from a lifeless loss to Eastern Conference also-ran New Jersey on Monday by jumping on the NHL-leading Lightning.

Evgeni Malkin picked up two assists to become the fifth Russian-born player in league history to reach 600 career assists. He and Steven Stamkos each drew 5-minute fighting majors after tussling early in the third period.

Murray withstood an early barrage by Tampa Bay to hand the Lighting — the highest-scoring team in the NHL — just the fourth regulation loss in their last 25 games.

Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on five shots before settling down to finish with 18 saves, but Tampa Bay couldn’t recover in its return from a 10-day break. J.T. Miller and Stamkos scored late in the third period to keep the Lighting from being shut out for the first time this season, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent Tampa Bay from falling to 2-12-2 in its last 14 regular-season visits to Pittsburgh.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan expressed frustration at his team’s sloppy performance against New Jersey, when turnovers and disinterested play in front of Murray dropped Pittsburgh to 1-7-1 against last-place teams.

Two days later against an opponent with the inside track to claim the Presidents’ Trophy, the effort and the results were far different.

Sheahan gave the Penguins the lead 3:25 into the game when he pounced on a rebound of Garrett Wilson’s wraparound attempt and flipped it past Vasilevskiy. Kessel’s 21st goal of the season less than five minutes later came in much the same fashion. Kessel and Bryan Rust broke in 2-on-1 and Rust attempted to skate across the crease and beat Vasilevskiy with a backhand only to lose control of the puck. No matter. Kessel, standing at the left post, tapped it in to make it 2-0.

Pittsburgh needed just 16 seconds to push the advantage to 3-0. Jake Guentzel forced a turnover behind the Tampa Bay net. Dominik Simon jumped on the loose puck and fed Crosby all alone in front.

The Lightning opted to stick with Vasilevskiy and turned up the pressure on the other end of the ice. Pittsburgh went more than 17 minutes without a shot on net, but Tampa Bay couldn’t figure out a way to beat Murray. When Letang took a pass from Kessel and beat Vasilevskiy over his blocker, the Penguins were firmly in control.

NOTES: Kendall Coyne Schofield, a forward on the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team who finished seventh in the fastest skate competition at the All-Star Game last weekend, worked the game as an analyst for NBC Sports Network. … Pittsburgh F Derick Brassard missed the game with an upper-body injury. … Tampa Bay’s top-ranked power play went 1 for 2 with the man advantage. Pittsburgh’s went 0 for 3. … Malkin is the fourth Penguin to reach 600 assists, joining Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Crosby. … Pittsburgh forward Teddy Blueger played 6:22 in his NHL debut.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Visit the New York Islanders on Friday.

Penguins: Finish three-game homestand on Friday against Ottawa.

1st period goals:

Pit:

Riley Sheahan (3:25)

Phil Kessel (8:05)

Sidney Crosby (8:21)

Crosby, Lundqvist lead Metropolitan to All-Star win
By JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Sidney Crosby had two goals and three assists, and Henrik Lundqvist pitched a first-half shutout to lead the Metropolitan Division to a 10-5 victory over the Central Division in the championship round of the NHL All-Star game Saturday night.
Selected the MVP, Crosby finished the night with four goals and four assists in two games on the same ice where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup three years ago for Pittsburgh. Lundqvist stopped 11 of 13 shots in his two games to give the Metropolitan Division its second title in four years of the three-on-three All-Star format and the $1 million prize shared by the winners of the four-team divisional tournament.
Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders added two goals and three assists in the final game.
Mikko Rantanen had two goals and Colorado teammate Gabriel Landeskog added one for the Central. Landeskog finished with four goals and three assists, while Rantanen had four goals and two assists.
Crosby assisted on Barzal’s goal against Devan Dubnyk just 22 seconds into the championship game and then made it 5-0 in the closing seconds of the first half off a pass from Barzal. Crosby also assisted on Pittsburgh teammate Kris Letang’s goal in the first half and then helped seal the game with a goal in the second half that made it 6-2.
Lundqvist made big saves against Landeskog and Claude Giroux in the period one night after winning the save streak competition in the skills challenge.
The first time the All-Star game came to San Jose in 1997, hometown favorite Owen Nolan capped the night by calling his shot and pointing to the spot where he completed a hat trick that delighted the Shark Tank.
Sharks fans didn’t have as much to cheer for in the return, even though their three All-Stars started the night on the ice together for the Pacific. The Central blitzed the Pacific early for its first win in four years in this format, scoring seven goals on nine shots against John Gibson in the first half of the period in a 10-4 victory.
Gibson, who plays for the rival Anaheim Ducks, drew derisive chants from the fans who later called for Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury to take over.
“Anytime you play it’s a rivalry and the fans take it personally. That’s what makes it fun,” Gibson said. “You’re still at All-Star game and you’re out there with some of the best players in the league. Stuff’s going to happen.”
Landeskog had a hat trick and an assist and Roman Josi had three assists and a goal for the Central.
Pekka Rinne and Dubnyk combined to stop 23 of 27 shots with Dubnyk providing one of the biggest highlights with a glove save that robbed Connor McDavid on a breakaway.
The Metropolitan Division won the second semifinal 7-4 thanks to a tiebreaking goal by Letang with 3:38 to play. Sebastian Aho added an insurance goal seconds after Braden Holtby stopped John Tavares in close.
NOTES: The NHL honored four women’s hockey players who participated in All-Star weekend, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Brianna Decker of the United States, and Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast of Canada. The four women got a standing ovation and a $25,000 donation in their name to a hockey charity of their choice. Coyne Schofield was the first woman to compete in the skills competition on Friday night, finishing seventh in the fastest skater competition.
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Kessel scores in overtime, Penguins beat Coyotes 3-2
By JOHN MARSHALL, AP Sports Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan did not like his team’s effort in a loss to San Jose earlier this week. A parade to the penalty box in the first period did not lift his mood.
A dominating second period and a big goal from Phil Kessel had Sullivan feeling a lot better.
Kessel scored on a power play at 4:09 of overtime, Matt Murray stopped 30 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Friday night.
“I thought the guys did a pretty good job of keeping their focus,” Sullivan said. “We had a real strong second period.”
Outscored 10-4 in consecutive losses, Pittsburgh fell behind on Clayton Keller’s first-period goal following a flurry of penalties.
The Penguins rallied in the second when Jusso Riikola and Jake Guentzel scored 40 seconds apart, but Derek Stepan scored with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third to tie it.
Pittsburgh had a 4 on 3 in overtime when Richard Panik was called for slashing and Kessel cashed in, redirecting Sidney Crosby’s shot from the point past Darcy Kuemper.
“It started off a little tough, going to the box as much as we were,” Crosby said. “But we got some good kills, got right back at it in the second period and it’s good to get two points.
Arizona had won four of its previous five games and Kuemper was on a four-game winning streak, one short of his career high.
The Coyotes withstood the two quick goals in the second period and rallied in the third, but gave Pittsburgh’s dangerous power play one too many chance.
Kuemper stopped 32 shots, including a nifty glove save on Guentzel late in overtime.
“We scratched and clawed again,” said Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet, a former Penguins assistant. “Those guys have some world-class players over there. We played a good game and had a chance to win the game”
Coming off a 5-2 loss to the Sharks on Tuesday, Pittsburgh had four penalties in the opening 20 minutes against the Coyotes, including two on the same shift. The Coyotes didn’t score on the 5-on-3, but Keller did shortly after it ended, one-timing a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson to beat Murray stick side on a 4 on 3.
Keller became the fastest player to 100 career points with his goal, doing it in 132 games.
“It’s a cool accomplishment, but I’m more focused on our team,” he said. “We’re playing good hockey right now.”
The Penguins had a big push at the end of the first period and quickly took the lead on goals 40 seconds apart.
Riikola had the first one on a power play, firing a shot from just inside the blue line that Kuemper couldn’t see through traffic. Guentzel put Pittsburgh ahead on a rebound of his own shot, lifting it over Kuemper from a tough angle.
Arizona appeared to tie it early in the third period when Panik poked a loose puck past a prone Murray. The Penguins challenged the play and the officials called Ekman-Larsson for goalie interference after clipping Murray with his skate.
Stepan converted in the third period, gathering a rebound from just outside the crease and flicking it past Murray.
NOTES: Penguins RW Patric Hornqvist participated in a portion of practice on Thursday, but missed his fourth straight game with a concussion. … Max Domi had been the fastest Arizona player to reach 100 points, doing it in 154 games. … Pittsburgh F Joseph Blandisi had three shots on goal in 21 minutes after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for Derek Grant on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh plays at Vegas Saturday night.
Arizona starts a six-game road trip at Toronto on Sunday.
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Quick gets 301st win as Kings beat Penguins 5-2
By DAN GREENSPAN, Associated Pressed
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jonathan Quick got another memento to add to the plastic tub in his attic filled with pucks commemorating important achievements.
Quick stopped 38 shots to get his 301st win, leading the Kings to a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night, snapping the Penguins’ six-game road winning streak.
Quick tied Mike Richter for fourth place in career wins by an American goalie, reaching the mark in his 577th game and matching the former Rangers goalie’s total in 666 games.
“Well, obviously, to get here means I’ve been lucky enough to play with some good players and on some really good hockey teams. Yeah, it means a lot. It’s special,” Quick said of tying Richter.
Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists and Anze Kopitar scored twice for the Kings, who had lost four of their past five.
The Kings were determined to respond after a 4-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday they derided as perhaps the worst performance of a disappointing season. They followed through, taking a lead 2-1 lead at 8:47 of the second period when Alex Iafallo was credited with his 10th goal after a centering pass by Carter struck him in the chest and went in.
Kopitar made it 3-1 at with 3:55 left with a short-handed goal.
Brendan Leipsic pushed the lead to 4-1 at 49 seconds of the third.
“Last game was embarrassing and the effort wasn’t there, so coming in tonight we wanted to throw in the effort obviously and the desperation level needed to win the game, and we did a good job,” said Kopitar, who added an empty-netter with 47 seconds remaining.
Quick mixed in his typical array of spectacular highlight saves, including a glove save on Riley Sheahan in the second period before the Kings jumped out in front and an acrobatic stop of Evgeni Malkin in the third period when the Penguins were making a charge.
“Being back there for us, it’s very comforting because he always gives us a chance and that’s what you want from your goaltender,” Kopitar said. “To see him get up there in his individual columns, if you will, it’s not surprising.”
Jake Guentzel scored short-handed and power-play goals and Casey DeSmith made 20 saves for the Penguins, who lost for the second time in their past 12 games.
Guentzel scored five goals in the back-to-back games against Anaheim and Los Angeles, but Pittsburgh was unable to continue the longest road winning streak in the NHL this season.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan was most concerned with allowing a league-worst 10th short-handed goal. Kris Letang made an off-balance backhand pass that led to a 2-on-1 break for Kopitar and Carter.
Sullivan isn’t ready to abandon the four-forward, one-defenseman personnel grouping that has worked so well for Pittsburgh, but cautioned the team could not be so careless with the puck going forward.
“It’s a lack of diligence in important parts of the rink,” Sullivan said. “Even though we’ve on the power play we have to have some conscience defensively, and it starts with our own puck possession.”
NOTES: Quick is 68 wins behind Tom Barrasso in third place. Ducks goalie Ryan Miller is tied with John Vanbiesbrouck for most wins by a U.S.-born goalie at 374. … Guentzel has seven goals and three assists during a six-game point streak. … Malkin got his eighth assist during a six-game streak.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Visit San Jose on Tuesday.
Kings: Visit Minnesota on Tuesday.
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