Category: NHL

Pens win 5th Straight. 5-1 over Blue Jackets

By MITCH STACY, AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Riley Sheahan scored two goals in the first period, rookie Tristan Jarry had 35 saves and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Sunday night.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, and Brian Dumoulin and Zach Aston-Reese also scored for the Penguins. They have won five straight and 10 of their last 12. The win in front of a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena moved them past Washington into first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The 22-year-old Jarry played well standing in for starter Matt Murray, who got a rest as Pittsburgh played the second leg of a back-to-back and its third game in four days. It was Jarry’s first NHL action in a month after going 3-0 in three starts for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL.
Artemi Panarin and Alexander Wennberg scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for the Blue Jackets. They have lost two straight and seven of the last nine. In what is becoming the norm lately, Columbus outshot its opponent (37-23) but couldn’t score enough to win. The Blue Jackets lead the NHL in shots per game but are lingering near the bottom of the division.
The Penguins had just seven shots in the first period but scored on three of them.
Sheahan got credit for his seventh goal of the season when he redirected a shot from Jamie Oleksiak.
Later in the first, Dumoulin scored with a slap shot from the left point off a beautiful no-look drop pass from Evgeni Malkin.
Three minutes later, Panarin tapped in his 16th goal of the season, set up by Cam Atkinson, to make it 2-1.
Sheahan got his second tally of the game with 8:31 left in the first. Bobrovsky got a piece of the wrist shot from top of the right circle but couldn’t keep it out of the net.
Aston-Reese made it 4-1 when he tipped in a rebound off Zach Werenski’s skate in traffic 9:29 into the second.
The Blue Jackets seemed to come out with a little more juice in the third period, and Wennberg, open in front of the goal, swept in a Boone Jenner pass 2:21 into the frame. But they couldn’t sustain it. Guentzel topped it off for Pittsburgh with 5:51 left.
NOTES: The Columbus captain, Nick Foligno, suffered a “lower-body” injury and didn’t play for most of the third period. … Pittsburgh’s 16-4-1 record since the beginning of the calendar year leads the NHL. … Blue Jackets D Dean Kukan suffered an “upper-body” injury in the first period and didn’t return. … Columbus D Markus Nutivaara didn’t play after he was injured in Friday night’s game against Philadelphia. Scott Harrington replaced him in the lineup.
UP NEXT:
Pittsburgh: Hosts Toronto on Saturday night.
Columbus: At New Jersey on Tuesday night.
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Pens beat Kings 3-1!!! 10 the straight home win for Pens

Aston-Reese lifts Pens past Kings for 10th home win a row
By DAN SCIFO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zach Aston-Reese broke a third-period tie with a power-play goal and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Thursday night for their 10th straight home victory.
Two nights after scoring his first two NHL goals, Aston-Reese gave the Penguins the lead at 5:24 of the period. Kris Letang’s point shot through traffic clipped Aston-Reese’s skate and went between goalie Jonathan Quick’s pads.
The Penguins’ home streak is the longest since a franchise-record 13-game run during the 2013-14 season. The Penguins haven’t lost in Pittsburgh since Jan. 4, a 4-0 setback to Carolina. Pittsburgh has won eight of 10 overall and 13 of 17.
Ryan Reaves scored in the second period, and Evgeni Malkin added an empty-netter. Matt Murray, playing his 100th NHL game, stopped 34 shots. Murray is in sole possession of first place for the most wins in his first 100 games among goalies to debut since 2005-06. He is unbeaten in regulation in his last eight decisions and won his last six at home.
Dion Phaneuf scored a power-play goal in his Kings debut. Phaneuf and forward Nate Thompson were traded from Ottawa to the Kings for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore during the Senators’ 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Immigration issues nearly kept Phaneuf from making his Kings’ debut. If his immigration paperwork didn’t go through in time, Phaneuf wouldn’t have been eligible to play. He skated on a fourth defense pair during the morning skate.
Quick made 36 saves. The Kings have lost three straight games.
Reaves opened the scoring at 6:06 of the second period with a blocker-side wrist shot from the top of the circle.
Phaneuf tied it with his power-play goal 1:16 later. His centering pass snuck through Murray’s pads and across the line.
NOTES: Sidney Crosby has a 10-game home point streak, while Malkin has points in six straight at home. … Penguins F Patric Hornqvist, who missed his sixth game with a lower-body injury, was on the ice before Thursday’s morning skate. … Thompson missed the previous four games with the Senators because of a lower-body injury. … Willie O’Ree, the first African American player in the National Hockey League, was in attendance and visited the Penguins after the team’s morning skate. … Pittsburgh scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and F Teddy Blueger. Los Angeles sat D Paul LaDue, D Kevin Gravel and F Michael Mersch.
UP NEXT
Kings: At Buffalo on Saturday night.
Penguins: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

Pens cruise past Senators 6-3!!!

By DAN SCIFO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jake Guentzel scored twice, Zach Aston-Reese scored his first two NHL goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Tuesday night.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 31st and Kris Letang his fourth for the Penguins, who have won seven of nine and 12 of their last 16. Sidney Crosby, who scored his 400th career goal on Sunday, finished with three assists.
Pittsburgh is riding a nine-game home winning streak, the longest since a franchise-record 13-game run during the 2013-14 season. The Penguins haven’t lost in Pittsburgh since a 4-0 defeat by Carolina on Jan. 4.
Matt Murray stopped 30 shots for Pittsburgh.
Derick Brassard, Colin White and Mike Hoffman all scored for the Senators, who lost for the third time in five games. The Senators dropped to 7-16-4 on the road. They were 22-17-2 away from home last season.
Guentzel scored his 17th on the power play and his 18th in the second period. Aston-Reese scored the first of his career in the second period and added an empty-net goal with 1:05 to play.
Mike Condon made five saves on nine shots before he was pulled after Aston-Reese’s goal. Craig Anderson stopped 17 of 18 shots.
Guentzel, who set a Penguins rookie record with 13 goals in the playoffs, scored 12 goals in his first 27 games this season, but he had just four in his previous 30.
Aston-Reese, a finalist for the 2017 Hobey Baker Award, played in his first NHL game Feb. 3 at New Jersey and recorded his first point at Dallas six days later.
The Penguins opened the scoring with their first power-play goal in five games. Guentzel tipped a Justin Schultz point shot behind Condon for the early lead.
Brassard evened the score at 4:18 of the second period with a blocker-side slap shot from the left faceoff dot.
The Penguins reclaimed the lead for good 52 seconds later with Guentzel’s second goal, a rebound from the top of the crease.
Murray made a sliding stop on Cody Ceci off the rush shortly after Guentzel’s goal, allowing Malkin and Aston-Reese to break it open.
Carl Hagelin pulled Condon out of position when he circled the net. An unsuspecting Condon thought Hagelin still had the puck, but he blindly dished it to Malkin, who dumped a spinning bad-angle backhander into a partially open net.
Aston-Reese made it a 4-1 game 1:20 later. He took a pass from Crosby off the rush and flicked a wrist shot that hit Condon’s glove and went across the line.
NOTES: Crosby and Phil Kessel both have nine-game home point streaks. Kessel’s matches his longest with the team. Malkin has points in five straight home games. … This was Ottawa’s first visit to Pittsburgh since the Penguins’ double-overtime victory in Game 7 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. … Senators F Nate Thompson missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury. … Pittsburgh scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and F Teddy Blueger. Forward Alexandre Burrows and defenseman Fredrik Claesson sat for Ottawa.
UP NEXT
Senators: Play two games at home starting Thursday against Buffalo.
Penguins: Continue a three-game homestand Thursday against Los Angeles.
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Crosby scores 2, reaches 400 goals in Pens’ 4-1 win

Crosby scores 2, reaches 400 goals in Pens’ 4-1 win.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored twice, including his 400th career goal, to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
Bryan Rust snapped a tie with a third-period tally and Riley Sheahan also scored for the Penguins, who have won 12 of their past 17.
Goalie Matt Murray made 33 saves for the Penguins.
Kyle Brodziak scored for St. Louis, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Crosby jammed a shot under the pad of goalie Jake Allen from the side of the net at 3:31 of the second period. He becomes the 95th player in NHL history to reach the 400-goal mark. Crosby is the 25th to have 400 goals with more than 650 assists.
Crosby had been held scoreless in his previous 10 games.
The goal came 21 seconds after Brodziak scored to break a scoreless tie. He converted from close range off a pass from Chris Thorburn.
Rust scored on a breakaway at 1:05 of the third period to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Crosby added an empty-net goal with 2:48 left, his 19th of the season.
St. Louis appeared to take a 2-1 lead just 34 seconds before Rust’s goal on a tally by Paul Stastny, but video replay showed the puck was hit with a high stick.
WELCOME BACK
Pittsburgh RW Ryan Reaves returned to St. Louis for the first time since he was acquired by the Penguins in a trade on June 23, 2017. Reaves, who spent seven season as the Blues enforcer, was given a loud ovation when he came onto the ice for the first time.
NOTES: St. Louis C Paul Stastny played in his 800th NHL game. … Blues goalie Jake Allen started back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 27-29. … Pittsburgh has gone four games without a power-play goal, tying a season high four-game drought from Dec. 11-18. … St. Louis coach Mike Yeo was an assistant for the Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Ottawa on Tuesday.
Blues: Travel to Nashville on Tuesday.
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