Musings: Penguins Start Hot and Get Big Win in Edmonton

The Penguins got off to one of the best starts in a game in franchise history on Thursday in Edmonton, and didn’t look back.

They defeated the Oilers 6-2 to earn their third straight win and second in as many nights, improving to 10-2-2 since the holiday break. Pittsburgh now sits in second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Anthony Mantha scored twice, while Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov also got in the goal column. Arturs Silovs made 29 saves.

“The guys, they came ready to play,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “You're playing a back-to-back, and the other team's fresh. There's plenty of things that you can have for excuses – travel, tired, and all that. And I thought with our group, it's a huge credit to them. There was none of that.

“Really liked the offensive execution, but I liked a lot of things we were doing on the defensive side. Just the way the guys were working, just the overall team game.”

The Penguins scored three goals in a 37-second span during the first 2:57 of play, against a team coming off back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

Mantha’s first came at the 2:20 mark, his second came at the 2:42 mark, and Crosby got the third at 2:57. Per Penguins PR, there have only been two other instances in franchise history where Pittsburgh scored three goals in a shorter span, in 1993 and 1972.

“Yeah, I mean, I don't think you expect that,” the Penguins captain said. “Moe (Mantha) had a big shift there, got a couple goals. Gave us a boost, and I thought we were just ready to play from the start. And sometimes, it works out that way.”

Pittsburgh entered the first intermission with that 3-0 lead thanks in part to a big block from Jack St. Ivany on Evan Bouchard, who has one of the best shots in the league. It came during an abbreviated power play for Edmonton.

“Like, we needed that,” Muse said. “We had a breakdown, and we needed something big in that moment, and he came up with it. And he just stuck with it. Credit to him. I thought he came back and played a really strong game after that as well.”

St. Ivany picked up two assists for the second straight game, while Parker Wotherspoon saved a goal in the final seconds of the period by beating Leon Draisaitl to a loose puck on the goal line, ensuring that Silovs could cover.

While that group got a boost with Erik Karlsson returning to the lineup after missing a few games due to injury, it’s been a total team effort on the blue line regardless of who’s in.

“Guys did an excellent job today,” Silovs said.

The Penguins got a power play of their own in the first few minutes of the second period, with Connor McDavid going to the box. Pittsburgh ended up giving up a shorthanded goal to Jake Walman, but they didn’t get rattled whatsoever.

They responded by converting with the extra attacker on a delayed penalty call. Malkin displayed some remarkable patience and vision to find Rakell in the slot area. He lasered one home to put the Penguins up 4-1.

Less than two minutes later, Malkin made another terrific play, intercepting a pass at his own blue line and going in on a breakaway. He beat former teammate Tristan Jarry with a backhand shot through the pads to make it 5-1 Pittsburgh.

When a reporter said Malkin didn’t look like a player who’s going to retire anytime soon, the 39-year-old superstar quipped, “I never say I want to retire. It’s all you. I feel great, and I like how we play. It's always fun to win.”

His line, which has been red-hot over the last couple of games, found another goal early in the third period. Chinakhov sniped one top shelf that went in and out so quick, not everyone knew it was in at first. It was his second in as many nights, and he now has five goals in 12 games with the Penguins after scoring three goals in 29 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to his trade.

“I like how our line play right now, Tommy (Novak) and Chinny,” Malkin said.

The Oilers found one late, finishing with 31 shots on Silovs, who quietly put together a strong performance between the pipes.

“I thought there was some huge saves throughout the entire game,” Muse said. “I thought it was another game where it was big saves, but also at big moments, where maybe the momentum could have really swung the other way, and he came up big. And so, I thought it was a really strong game for him.”

Now, as Malkin said, the team has a well-deserved day off on Friday. They will practice on Saturday and get back at it on Sunday in Vancouver to close out the road trip.

“I think we have a great team. Just stay same level,” he said. “We have a chance to win every game.”