Penguins defeat Red Wings, take sole possession of third in Metropolitan

DETROIT --The Pittsburgh Penguins regained sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 7-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

The Penguins (45-23-11) are two points ahead of the Washington Capitals, who defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 on Friday. Pittsburgh visits the Philadelphia Flyers and the Capitals host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
"When we've got all of our forwards, this is what we can do," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We can manage minutes so that our players can sustain a high pace and performance. That's important, especially in the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]."

Sidney Crosby became the third player in Penguins history to score 30 goals in 10 seasons, joining Jaromir Jagr (10) and Mario Lemieux (11). Evgeni Malkin scored twice in his return from a four-game suspension for cross-checking Nashville Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on April 10. Kris Letang had a goal and two assists, and Casey DeSmith made 23 saves.
"It had to be tough for [Malkin] because we had a long break in there and he's trying to stay in shape," Letang said. "But he's so talented that he instantly makes our team a lot better, especially on the power play."
Detroit (30-39-10) has lost four of five. Thomas Greiss allowed five goals on 23 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 13 saves.
"When we are playing a team like Florida (Panthers), Tampa Bay (Lightning) or Pittsburgh, we try to keep ourselves in the game as long as we can," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We did that in Tampa and found our way to a win (4-3 on Tuesday).

"Today, we did it pretty well in the first period, and then it got away from us a little."
The Red Wings played their final game on home ice this season, finishing 18-16-7.
"I thought we were pretty good at home in the first half of the season, and I thought the fans helped us a lot with their energy," Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser said. "In the second half of the season, I thought we got a little stagnant at home, and I don't know why."
Chad Ruhwedel gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 13:44 of the first period, knocking in Teddy Blueger's pass for his fourth goal of the season.
Less than two minutes later, the Red Wings left Crosby alone and he tapped in Rickard Rakell's pass for a 2-0 lead at 15:18.
Jakub Vrana cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 16:36, and Michael Rasmussen tied it 2-2 by finishing a 2-on-1 break 17 seconds into the second.
The Penguins responded with five unanswered goals, starting when Rakell made it 3-2 at 7:44.
Letang then pushed the lead to 4-2 at 11:37.
"That was a huge goal by [Rakell]," Sullivan said. "I thought we kept playing well after they tied it, but getting that goal really settled things down for us."

Malkin scored on a rebound at 16:23 to put Pittsburgh ahead 5-2.
Danton Heinen got his fourth goal in five games to extend the lead to 6-2 at 5:38 of the third, and Malkin completed the scoring with his second goal at 19:34.
"I don't know what's going on, honestly," Heinen said. "I haven't changed anything. My linemates have made some great plays and sometimes the puck just goes in for you."
NOTES:The Red Wings switched the scoreboard feed to nearby Comerica Park during the first intermission to show Miguel Cabrera get his 3,000th hit for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. It received a standing ovation and the team showed tribute videos from Michigan natives Dylan Larkin and DeKeyser in the third period. ... Letang has scored 67 points, tying his NHL career-high set in 2015-16. ... The Penguins outscored the Red Wings 20-6 in three games this season, winning twice and losing in a shootout.