Drew O'Connor discusses his move back up to the Pittsburgh Penguins second line to play with Evgeni Malkin and Reilly Smith. The Pittsburgh Penguins looked to close out 2023 on a high note with back-to-back contests on home ice to finish the year. Not only did the Penguins want to finish strong, but hoped to maintain the same momentum they carried after a 7-0 routing of the New York Islanders. The St. Louis Blues were in town to help kick off the back-to-back and were on the back half of one of their own. It was the second and final contest between these two teams for the 2023-24 season as the Blues took the first game in St. Louis. FIRST PERIOD For a good chunk of the opening period, neither team put together much pressure on offense; the Penguins killed off Ryan Graves penalty with relative ease. Evgeni Malkin has been on a different level over the last two weeks or so, and he put together a great effort to set up Drew O’Connor. Malkin made a perfect feed to find O’Connor on a 2-on-1 break; O’Connor doesn’t usually strike many as a second line winger, but he’s looked solid with Malkin and Reilly Smith. In the dying seconds of the period, the Penguins thought they had a second goal off the stick of Valtteri Puustinen, but it turned out he was guilty of a high-sticking penalty just before the non-goal. SECOND PERIOD The second period started with the Penguins attempting to kill off the rest of Puustinen’s penalty, but the Blue capitalized to knot the game at one. That power play goal from the Blues marked the first goal given up by Penguins penalty killers in 12 straight attempts. Despite allowing a power play goal, the Penguins answered back with a goal on the man advantage of their own. Malkin picked up his second point of the game with a redirection in the goal crease on a shot pass from Jake Guetnzel. The Penguins picked up a couple more power play chances in the second frame but failed to capitalize, keeping their score at two. Tristan Jarry made the rest of the saves the Blues put on him to send the game to the second intermission with the Penguins up 2-1. THIRD PERIOD The Penguins opened up the third period strong on a smart play from Jansen Harkins and Jeff Carter. Blues' netminder Joel Hofer looked to make a pass out from behind his net, but before he could get reset Harkins intercepted the pass and fed it to Carter. Hofer was back in the crease but not fully set for Carter's shot on net; the play was Harkins' first point with the Penguins. The Blues found a way to answer back just second after the Penguins killed off a Radim Zohorna penalty. Former Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen deflected a shot to pull the Blues within a goal. With the clock ticking down, the Blues pulled Hofer for the extra attacker and Sidney Crosby found the back of the empty cage almost immediately. Crosby's goal proved to be the dagger and sealed the Penguins second straight win and sixth in their last eight games. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Penguins Recall Defenseman Ryan Shea [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/pittsburgh-penguins-recall-defenseman-ryan-shea] Expect Penguins' Netminders to Split Starts More Often [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/pittsburgh-penguins-netminders-split-starts-more-often] Possible Landing Spots for Penguins Leading Scorer [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/possible-landing-spots-pittsburgh-penguins-jake-guentzel] New Year's Resolutions for Penguins' Core [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/new-years-resolutions-pittsburgh-penguins-core] Penguins Believe Jesse Puljujarvi Can Be Useful All Over Lineup [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/pittsburgh-penguins-believe-jesse-puljujarvi-useful-lineup] * undefined * undefined
