NHL Game Recap: Malkin Has Goal, Three Points as Penguins Defeat Canadiens 6-3

Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 last night in Montreal. Forward Evgeni Malkin (1G, 2A) led the way for the Penguins, as goalie Tristan Jarry made 24 saves on 27 shots. Forward Nick Suzuki (2A) and defenseman Mike Matheson (2A) led the way for the Habs, as goalie Sam Montembeaault made 27 saves on 32 shots.

Game Recap

The Penguins broke the ice first with 13:06 left in the first period, after a dump-in by defenseman Marcus Pettersson was grabbed in air by forward Jesse Puljujarvi, who fed one to forward Lars Eller, who sniped a shot past Montembeault to give the Pens the 1-0 lead, and Eller his first goal of the season. With just over three minutes left, the Penguins extended their lead to 2-0 after Evgeni Malkin won a puck battle behind the net and fed one out in front to forward Rickard Rakell, who grabbed his second goal of the season. With less than two minutes left in the period, Montreal cut the lead in half to 2-1 as defenseman Kaden Guhle rips home a one-timer from the blue line to give him his first goal of the season.

Just less than three minutes into the second period, Forward Juraj Slafkovsky tied the game up at 2-2 for the Canadiens on the power play for his first goal of the season. With 5:34 left in the period, the Canadiens took the 3-2 lead after forward Emil Heineman scored his second career NHL goal on a two-on-one. The game got tied back up at 3-3 with 3:37 left after Lars Eller once again fired a shot past Montembeault to give him his second of the game.

With 12:15 left in the third period, Forward Kevin Hayes banged in a shot on the doorstep to give him in second goal of the season, and the 4-3 Penguins lead. With 8:29 left in the period, defenseman Kris Letang expanded the Penguins lead to 5-3 after receiving a feed from Evgeni Malkin and putting home his second goal of the year. With 1:10 left in the game, Malkin got on the board with an empty net goal. His first goal of the season made it 6-3 Pens, and he is only one goal away from 500 career NHL goals.

Three Stars

  1. PIT F Evgeni Malkin (1G, 2A)
  2. PIT F Lars Eller (2G)
  3. MTL D Mike Matheson (2A)

Game Notes

MTL

  • PP: 1/2 (50%)
  • Next Game: Oct 17. vs LAK (7:00 PM EST)

PIT

  • Penguins led in shots 32-27
  • PP: 0/1 (0%)
  • Next Game: Oct 16. vs BUF (7:00 PM EST)

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Nik Shermeto

PT ‘23 | 🇺🇸/🇨🇦 | Penguins writer for Inside The Rink | Thoughts are my own.

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