(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
By ALLAN KREDA Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Frank Vatrano and Artemi Panarin scored in the second period, Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots for his fourth shutout of the season and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. Dryden Hunt added an empty-net goal in the final minute and Mika Zibanejad had two assists for New York, which is 6-1-1 in its last eight games — including three victories against Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 21 saves for Pittsburgh, which has lost four of five and is 2-5-1 in its last eight.

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
By DAN SCIFO Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguin. The Avalanche became the first NHL team to 50 wins this season. J.T. Compher, Darren Helm, Josh Manson and Artturi Lehkonen also scored for Colorado. Darcy Kuemper stopped 41 shots. Bryan Rust, Evan Rodrigues, Jake Guentzel and Mike Matheson all scored for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for Pittsburgh, which has lost five of its last seven games.

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)
By BRIAN HALL Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin scored 3:57 into overtime and Rickard Rakell had two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins halted Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Wild. Jake Guentzel added his 32nd goal of the season for Pittsburgh. Rakell has three goals in six games since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for three players and a second-round draft choice. Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith made 28 saves. Pittsburgh moved one point behind the New York Rangers for second in the Metropolitan Division. First-place Carolina is six points ahead of the Penguins. Kirill Kaprizov scored his 38th goal for Minnesota to tie the franchise record for points in a season with 83. Matt Dumba and Frederick Gaudreau also scored for the Wild. Cam Talbot stopped 35 shots.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Frank Vatrano and Braden Schneider scored less than five minutes apart in the second period, and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Chris Kreider added his 45th goal in the third as the Rangers topped Pittsburgh for the second time in five days. Igor Shesterskin made 22 saves, including a stop on Penguins forward Jake Guentzel in the final seconds. Sidney Crosby scored his 25th goal and Brian Boyle got his ninth for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry made 23 saves but fell to 6-2 in his last eight starts, with both losses coming to New York.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jake Guentzel scored twice in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins breezed past the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1. Radim Zohorna and Bryan Rust also scored during the second for Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin added a power-play goal in the third as the Penguins won their third straight. Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots to improve to 7-1 in his last eight starts. Gustav Nyquist gave the Blue Jackets an early lead with a power-play goal but Columbus simply couldn’t keep up.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By JIM DIAMOND Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Juuse Saros made 35 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, Eeli Tolvanen and Yakov Trenin scored for the Predators, who have won five of six. Roman Josi had three assists and Colton Sissons added two. Jake Guentzel had the lone goal and Casey DeSmith stopped 21 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its previous two games.

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
By MARK DIDTLER Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, Tristan Jarry made 20 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was given a game misconduct for arguing with officials with 53.7 seconds remaining in the second period after the Lightning received an extra minor penalty stemming from a scrum. Sidney Crosby, Danton Heinen, Brock McGinn and Jake Guentzel had the other Pittsburgh goals as the Penguins improved to 19-6-3 on the road. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored for the Lightning.

Hurricanes edge Pens 4-3 to take lead in tight Metropolitan
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jesper Fast scored 9 seconds into the third period to break a tie, Sebastian Aho followed with his 22nd goal of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Sunday to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Staal also scored for Carolina, which never trailed in the first meeting of the season between the teams that entered the day tied atop perhaps the league’s most competitive division. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Evan Rodrigues scored for Pittsburgh.

Penguins star Sidney Crosby joins NHL’s 500-goal club
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is the latest member of the NHL’s 500-goal club. Crosby reached the mark with a power-play goal in the first period of Tuesday night’s game against Philadelphia. Crosby is the 46th player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal plateau and the 18th to do it with one franchise. He is the second Penguin to score 500 goals, joining Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux.