Recap: Ducks Can't Slow Down Surging Penguins in 4-1 Defeat

The Ducks fell behind early and could not mount a comeback effort against one of the NHL's hottest teams, suffering a 4-1 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at Honda Center. The loss drops Anaheim to 19-13-7 (45 points), second in the Pacific Division.
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Evgeni Malkin, returning to the ice after a 34-game absence recovering from offseason knee surgery, and longtime Kings forward Jeff Carter scored twice to power the Penguins offensively.
Pittsburgh is 11-1-0 in its last 12 games and moved within three points of the division-leading Hurricanes. The Penguins won both meetings with the Ducks this season, outscoring Anaheim 5-1.
Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves in his 11th start of the season. In his last six appearances, Stolarz has stopped 146-of-155 shots for a .942 save percentage.
Jakob Silfverberg scored the lone goal for Anaheim, his second of the season.
The Ducks continued to welcome players back to the lineup from the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, tonight getting Hampus Lindholm and Derek Grant back in the fold. Lindholm registered one shot and four blocked shots in 19:23 of ice time. Grant played 16:21, notching two shots and two hits.
The evening got off to a nightmarish start for Anaheim as a defensive zone turnover just over a minute after the opening faceoff ended up in the back of the Ducks net, courtesy of Carter. The Ducks tried to work the puck out of their zone up the right side of the ice, but former Anaheim blueliner Marcus Petterson poked it free to Carter in the slot for a wrist shot past Stolarz, giving the Penguins a quick lead.
Strong starts and stingy early defense have been the foundation of Pittsburgh's success this season. The Pens lead the NHL in first period goal-differential (+24) and have surrendered only 13 first-period goals in 35 games.
The Ducks were ultimately outshot handily in the first, but did generate several good looks at Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry, who stopped a Sonny Milano partial breakaway and consecutive chances created by Rickard Rakell to keep the Pens ahead.
Malkin scored his first of the night minutes into the middle frame, blasting a slapshot under Sidney Crosby's leaping screen to put the Pens up by two.
Malkin has 9-14=23 points in 19 career games against the Ducks. His season debut officially made him the fourth player in Penguins history to play 16 seasons with the club, joining Mario Lemieux (17) and teammates Crosby (17) and Kris Letang (16).
Silfverberg cut the deficit in half on a rebound opportunity in front of the net, scoring his first goal since Oct. 15. Ryan Getzlaf set up Josh Manson for a point shot that was blocked before getting to the net and Silfverberg got to the loose puck first, firing it past a sprawling Jarry to bring the Ducks back within a goal.
Despite Silfverberg's scoring drought, Eakins praised the veteran forward's overall play just this morning, and aptly predicted Silfverberg would find the back of the net soon.
"Do we think Silvy could score more? Absolutely. Will he? He will," Eakins said. "But I do not want to take away from what he's been doing checking other teams top lines and being a real leader on a penalty kill that has been excellent this year."
Pittsburgh restored the two-goal advantage later in the period on Malkin's second of the night, a redirection of John Marino's shot for a 3-1 lead.
The Penguins played a tight-checking third period, doing their best to limit Anaheim's offensive opportunities, while Jarry shut down Anaheim's best bids with a couple big saves and Carter hit the empty net to secure Pittsburgh's 4-1 victory.
Anaheim begins a two-game midwest roadtrip Friday night in Minnesota.