Phil Kessel scores in OT, Penguins beat Kings 4-3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Phil Kessel scored a power-play goal at 3:59 of overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Evgeni Malkin pushed a loose puck from the slot to Kessel, and he finished near the side of the net for the Penguins’ fifth victory in seven games.

Tanner Pearson scored against his former team, and Matt Cullen and Bryan Rust also had goals for the Penguins. Matt Murray made 38 saves for his first victory since Oct. 25 at Calgary.

Murray stopped Tyler Toffoli’s breakaway in the first 30 seconds of overtime. The goalie also denied a quality overtime chance from Jake Muzzin in the slot.

Muzzin, Matt Luff and Alex Iafallo scored for Los Angeles, and Jonathan Quick stopped 32 shots. The Kings have lost four straight and eight of 10.

Iafallo tied it at 3 with a power-play goal at 12:30 of the third period.

Murray missed the previous nine games with a lower-body injury before backing up Casey DeSmith the last two contests. He made his first start since Nov. 17 when he was pulled for the third time in six starts during a loss at Ottawa.

Murray, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, struggled through his first 11 games, posting a 4-5-1 record with a 4.08 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage.

Cullen’s short-handed goal opened the scoring for Pittsburgh. It was the Penguins’ second of the season and second in as many games.

Rust extended the Penguins’ lead to 2-0 later in the period when he beat Quick to the glove side with a wrist shot.

Toffoli scored in the first period for the Kings, but the goal was overturned following a Pittsburgh offsides challenge.

Muzzin’s goal stood at 3:22 of the second period. Muzzin, a former Penguins’ draft pick, finished a one-timer from Anze Kopitar during an odd-man rush.

Pearson put Pittsburgh in front 3-1 midway through the second period. He stripped Drew Doughty of the puck at the Kings’ blueline, eluded Quick’s poke check and elevated a shot above the fallen Kings’ goaltender.

Pearson skated four full seasons and parts of two others with the Kings before he was traded to the Penguins on Nov. 14 in exchange for Carl Hagelin, who is out with a lower-body injury. Pearson, who won a Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2014, has four goals and six points in 16 games with Pittsburgh.

Luff pulled Los Angeles back within one when he beat Murray to the blocker side with a wrist shot from the slot.

NOTES: Pittsburgh has won four straight at home. … The Penguins played without D Kris Letang, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury sustained Friday in a collision with Boston Bruins’ F Joakim Nordstrom. Juuso Riikola took Letang’s spot in the lineup. … Kings’ D Dion Phaneuf missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. … Pittsburgh F Jake Guentzel extended an eight-game home point streak.

UP NEXT

Kings: Host Winnipeg on Tuesday night.

Penguins: Host Anaheim on Monday night.

Blackhawks end 8-game slide with 6-3 win over Penguins

 

 – 12/12/18 11:05 PM
BC-HKN–Penguins-Blackhawks
By MATT CARLSON ,  Associated Press
Eds: APNewsNow. Blackhawks 6, Penguins 3. With AP Photos.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak by topping the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Kruger, Brent Seabrook, Andreas Martinsen, Brandon Saad each had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which rebounded after blowing 2-0 and 3-2 leads to win for just the second time in 12 contests. Alex DeBrincat scored a power-play goal.

Toews became the 16th active player to reach 700 career points with the same franchise. He assisted on Saad’s empty-netter for his 701st point.

Kruger snapped a 3-all tie when he beat Casey DeSmith from the front of the crease 3:49 into the third period. Martinsen set up Kruger’s fourth goal of the season with a centering pass from below the goal line.

Toews also had an empty-netter before Saad made it 6-3 with his ninth goal at 19:39.

Bryan Rust scored three times for Pittsburgh in his second career hat trick. The 26-year-old forward, who entered with one goal in 29 games this season, missed on several other prime chances.

Corey Crawford made 40 saves for Chicago. DeSmith blocked 23 shots in his sixth straight start and 10th in the last 12 games.

Matt Murray, who started the season as Pittsburgh’s No. 1 goalie, was activated from injured reserve and served as DeSmith’s backup. Murray missed 11 games with a lower-body injury.

The Blackhawks shook up their roster on Wednesday morning by recalling forward Dylan Sikura and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom from Rockford of the AHL and sending forward Alexandre Fortin to the minors. Sikura and Dahlstrom played.

Chicago is 4-12-2 under coach Jeremy Colliton, who replaced Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring for the first time since Nov. 18 and led 2-1 after one period. Opponents had scored first in Chicago’s last 11 games, outscoring the Blackhawks 25-5 in the first period during that span.

Martinsen skated across the crease and was credited with his first goal of the season on a deflection of Dahlstrom’s shot at 14:14. The goal capped a flurry around the Pittsburgh net after Kruger fired a shot off the crossbar and DeSmith lost his stick.

Seabrook put Chicago ahead 2-0 3:37 later when he fired a shot from the right point over DeSmith’s glove.

Rust cut it to 2-1 with 1:20 left in the first when he skated from the left corner and beat Crawford on the glove side.

Rust’s second goal, at 5:46 of the second, tied it at 2. After Seabrook’s turnover, Crawford made a pad save on Derek Grant’s drive from the slot, but Rust buried the rebound.

DeBrincat’s power-play goal with 4:32 left in the period regained the lead for Chicago. After taking Patrick Kane’s feed, DeBrincat skated around Olli Maatta and beat DeSmith on the stick side with a shot just under the crossbar.

Rust tied it at 3 with 56.8 seconds left when his cross-ice pass from the left side of the net deflected off Seabrook’s stick and past Crawford.

NOTES: Rust has 37 goals in 211 career games. He scored three times against Ottawa in December 2016. … Seabrook played in his 1,037th NHL game to move past Bobby Hull and into second place in games played as a Blackhawk. Stan Mikita leads with 1,396. … Pittsburgh G Tristan Jarry was returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL to make room for Murray, who practiced Tuesday and participated in the game-day skate Wednesday. “We thought we’d get him a good solid workout again today and then engage him over the next couple of games here,” coach Mike Sullivan said. Murray last played at Ottawa on Nov. 17 when he allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first period, then was relieved by DeSmith in a 6-4 loss. … Pittsburgh F Matt Cullen returned after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. … Chicago C Artem Anisimov was placed on injured reserve (concussion protocol) retroactive to Dec. 9, when he left a 3-2 loss to Montreal in the third period. … Blackhawks D Erik Gustafsson (illness) missed his second game, while Penguins F Patric Hornqvist (upper body) missed his third.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host Boston on Friday to open three-game homestand over four days.

Blackhawks: Host Winnipeg on Friday.

Pens lose 6-3 in Chicago despite Rust Hat-trick

3rd period goals:

Chicago:

Marcus Kruger (3:49)

Jonathan Toews ( EN 8:58)

Brandon Saad ( EN 19:49)

 

End of 2nd: Pens 3 Blackhawks 3 on WBVP and WMBA!!

2nd period goals:

Pit:

Bryan Rust (5:46)

Bryan Rust (19:03)

Chicago:

Alex DeBrincat (PP 15:28)

End of 1st: Blackhawks 2 Pens 1 on WBVP and WMBA!!

1st Period Goals:

Chicago:

Carl Dahlstrom (14:14)

Brent Seabrook (17:51)

Pit:

Bryan Rust (18:40)