The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three straight goals spanning the first and second periods Tuesday night to take a lead they'd never relinquish in a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Bryan Rust's go-ahead goal was the second score in the flurry for the Penguins, who moved into third place in Metropolitan Division with the win.
Zach Aston-Reese, Nick Bjugstad and Chad Ruhwedel also scored for the Penguins, who have won two straight and four of five. Goalie Matt Murray made 33 saves.
Jesper Bratt and Marcus Johansson scored go-ahead goals in the first for the Devils, while Miles Wood scored late in the third to close the Penguins' lead to 4-3. Goalie Keith Kinkaid recorded 24 saves for New Jersey, which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
A faceoff win by the Devils' Nico Hischier led to Bratt's goal just 2:14 into the first, when his shot from the right faceoff circle sailed into the upper corner of the net past a sliding Murray.
The Penguins tied the game a little less than five minutes later, when Aston-Reese took Sidney Crosby's nifty feed from behind the net and fired a shot between Kinkaid's legs at the 6:49 mark.
Johansson outraced Penguins winger Phil Kessel to a loose puck deep in the Pittsburgh zone before beating Murray on a breakaway at the 12:12 mark. Bjugstad tied the game with a power-play goal with 1:36 remaining in the period.
Jake Guentzel went coast to coast with the puck before feeding Rust for the go-ahead goal, which was slowed by Kinkaid but trickled into the back of the net with 9:15 left in the second. Ruhwedel scored his first goal of the season -- a slap shot from just in front of the blue line that banged off the crossbar -- to extend the Penguins' lead to 4-2 with 2:31 remaining.
Wood cut the gap in half with 4:50 left in the game despite being draped by defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who couldn't stop Wood from shoveling a shot under Murray's stick.
--Field Level Media
Pittsburgh | New Jersey | |
Zach Aston-Reese 1 | Points | Jesper Bratt 2 |
Zach Aston-Reese 1 | Goals | Jesper Bratt 1 |
Sidney Crosby 1 | Assists | Mirco Mueller 2 |
Nick Bjugstad 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Matt Murray .917 | Save Percentage | Keith Kinkaid .857 |
Matt Murray 33 | Saves | Keith Kinkaid 24 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh | 28 | 4 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 22 |
New Jersey | 36 | 3 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 4 | 28 |