Letang scores in OT, Penguins edge Red Wings for 3rd straight win

PITTSBURGH -- Kris Letang scored 58 seconds into overtime of his 1,200th NHL game, and Erik Karlsson had two assists to reach 900 NHL points in a 4-3 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Letang won it with a one-timer off a backhand pass from Sidney Crosby, who had two goals and an assist. His 13 overtime goals are tied with Scott Niedermayer for the second-most by a defenseman in League history behind Brent Burns (16).

“It’s always fun when you have, like, a milestone game and you do something you can remember,” Letang said. “I think family is a big thing. You need a support cast. My wife, my kids. They support what I do. It comes with a lot of sacrifice. ... Obviously, having an organization like the Penguins is just special. All the care they put into me.”

Arturs Silovs made 24 saves for the Penguins (18-12-9), who have won three in a row.

James van Riemsdyk, Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat scored, and Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Red Wings (24-14-4), who had won two straight and five of six, including 2-1 at home against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Patrick Kane had an assist for his 1,367th career point, bringing him within seven of tying Mike Modano (1,374) for the most by a United States-born player.

“The more we talk about resiliency, there’s a reason why we’re talking about it,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “We’re not in a good spot.” 


Blake Lizotte put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 15:51 of the third period with a shot off Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

Karlsson reached 900 points (203 goals, 697 assists) in 1,123 games on the play with his second assist of the game, a point shot that hit Lizotte before he gathered the loose puck and scored. Karlsson is the 14th defenseman to hit the milestone, and second active along with Burns (930 points; 266 goals, 664 assists).

“It’s obviously nice in a way, but you know, hopefully many more to come,” Karlsson said. “I’ve played with a lot of great guys over the years and still kicking it. So, won’t stop there.”

DeBrincat then tied it 3-3 at 17:02, wrapping a backhand around the right post on the Red Wings’ season-high eighth power play of the game.

“Definitely not our best game,” DeBrincat said. “I feel like we should’ve got two (points) there. It’s just the way it goes sometimes. But definitely a big point for us when we’re not feeling our best.”

Crosby scored on two of the Penguins' first four shots on goal. The Pittsburgh captain made it 1-0 with a slap shot on a power play at 4:08 of the first period. 
 
Crosby extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:46, intercepting a pass from Ben Chiarot and taking it to the slot for a wrist shot and his team-leading 23rd goal this season. He has eight points (four goals, four assists) on a five-game point streak.

“I thought we were on our toes,” Crosby said. “Obviously, got one there on the power play. And then 5-on-5, I thought, throughout the night, we were good. ... It was good for us to stay in it and find a way to win that one.”

Van Riemsdyk cut it to 2-1 on a power play at 17:46, scoring his 10th goal of the season by deflecting a one-timer from Marco Kasper.

Copp tied it 2-2 at 1:01 of the second period. Chiarot dumped the puck along the boards and Silovs went to play it, but it caromed hard out of the corner and in front for Copp to shoot into the vacant net. 
 


Lucas Raymond seemed to put the Red Wings in front at 12:48 of the third by cleaning up a shot from Dylan Larkin that broke the stick of Karlsson, but the play was ruled offside on a Pittsburgh challenge.

“It was obviously a real tough start,” McLellan said. “It took us a little while to find our legs. We were down, like, 25 minutes in. So, I’m happy with the way we stuck with it.”

NOTES: Letang has played the third-most games for the Penguins, behind Crosby (1,391) and Evgeni Malkin (1,239). He has the most points (792), goals (178) and assists (614) by a defenseman in their history. ... Crosby scored his 127th game-opening goal, tying Gordie Howe for the fourth-most all-time behind Alex Ovechkin (152), Jaromir Jagr (135) and Brett Hull (131). ... DeBrincat had one assist during a seven-game goal drought after scoring six goals in four games from Dec. 10-16. His 21 goals are tied with Larkin for the team lead. ... Forward Yegor Chinakhov had one shot on goal in 11:06 of ice time in his Penguins debut. He was acquired in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday for forward Danton Heinen, a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in 2027.