GAME RECAP: Penguins Fend Off Wild 4-3
Special teams leads the way for the Pittsburgh Penguins third victory in four games.
Special teams have been a volatile area of the Pittsburgh Penguins game to this point in the season. However, they found the perfect storm on Tuesday night, leading to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on home ice.
After over a month without scoring, the Penguins power play has scored multiple goals in three of the last four games. On the other end of the ice, the Penguins penalty kill shut out the Wild power play on three opportunities.
Goal Recap
(PIT 1-0) Reilly Smith (8): Valtteri Puustinen (3) & Marcus Pettersson (7)
(PIT 2-0) Jake Guentzel (14): Erik Karlsson (16) & Sidney Crosby (15) *PP
(PIT 3-0) Evgeni Malkin (11): Valtteri Puustinen (4) & Marcus Pettersson (8)
(PIT 3-1) Ryan Hartman (8): Brock Faber (12) & Marcus Johansson (12)
(PIT 3-2) Jake Middleton (5): Matt Boldy (10) & Kirill Kaprisov (17)
(TIE 3-3) Vinni Lettieri (3): John Merrill (3) & Daemon Hunt (1)
(PIT 4-3) Sidney Crosby (18): Jake Guentzel (20) & Evgeni Malkin (15) *PP
Three Stars
3. Noel Acciari
Acciari's presence was felt immediately on the penalty kill after missing seven games due to injury. When he went down with injury, the Penguins penalty kill ranked in the top ten of the NHL, but that unit suffered in his absence.
Since December 1st, the Penguins had the 27th ranked penalty kill unit in the NHL, but they killed off all three Wild power plays on Monday night behind Noel Acciari's performance on the man disadvantage.
2. Sidney Crosby
Crosby collected his seventh multi-point performance of the season, scoring one goal and one assist. His assist on Jake Guentzel's power-play goal broke a tie with former Penguins forward Mark Recchi for 13th on the NHL's all-time scoring list. He now sits four points back of Joe Thornton for 12th all-time.
The Penguins captain also picked up his 89th game-winning goal of his career.
1. Valtteri Puustinen
Puustinen might not be climbing NHL leaderboards, but he is making his mark on this Penguins team. The young right wing had his first multi-point performance of his NHL career on Monday night, picking up two primary assists in the victory.
Final Thoughts
The Penguins will look to parlay their winning recipe into a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Pittsburgh has struggled mightily against their division foes and has not beaten them since March 13th, 2022.
Brian Boyle, Danton Heinen, and Zach Aston-Reese accounted for three of the Penguins' four goals that night in a 4-2 victory. If the Penguins hope to push for the playoffs this season, they must improve against their division.
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