Ryan Graves and Noel Acciari both potted their first goals as members of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After dropping two straight to Metropolitan Division rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins worked their way back to the win column with a huge shutout victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

It was a shutout for Alex Nedeljkoivc in his return to the lineup after dealing with a lower-body injury and his first in a Penguins uniform.

A couple of Nedeljkovic’s new teammates had their own firsts in the victory as well; both defenseman Ryan Graves and forward Noel Acciari recorded their first goals with the team.

Both Graves and Acciari aren’t necessarily known for their goal scoring, but understand the importance of contributing offensively whenever they can.

“My main objective is not to come here to score goals, but it’s definitely nice when you can chip in,” Graves said. “A game like tonight where you can get a goal from me and a goal from Cookie (Acciari) I think that makes life easier.”

Depth scoring was an issue just about all of last season for the Penguins and a contributing factor in the losses heading into the Golden Knights contest.

Acciari mans the fourth line, which has been the Penguins’ least productive offensively with now only three goals to speak of.

Vinnie Hinostroza (who was out of the lineup against Vegas) has one, Matt Nieto has one, and now Acciari has his first.

Jeff Carter, who has dealt with healthy scratches and an injury, is yet to record a point.

Acciari says his goal gives him and his line confidence that they can help out offensively.

Their objective is to play defense, but if they’re able to find the back of the net themselves, that can allow the top lines to take ‘nights off’ and still give the Penguins a chance to win.

For both Graves and Acciari, their goals came out of being in the right spot; Graves had a bit of a pinch with a scramble in front of the Golden Knights net and Acciari had a puck bounce right to him with Adin Hill unaware.

“You’re trying to find yourself in a good area,” Graves said on his tally. “You’re just kind of hoping it pops to you and you’re in a decent area and it came right to me.”

Thanks to those tallies and a huge game from Nedeljkovic, the Penguins were able to pick up a win while Sidney Crosby saw his 11-game point streak come to an end.

Those are the kinds of games the Penguins were missing in the early stages of the season; games where the stars might not be clicking or finishing, but the depth is there to save the day.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.

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