Nick Robertson scored two goals, Arturs Silovs made 26 saves and the host Pittsburgh Penguins snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
Evgeni Malkin and Hendrix Lapierre each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who were 1-6-1 in their previous eight games. Connor Dewar logged two assists, and Silovs earned his second shutout of the season.
Cooper Black made 17 saves in his NHL debut for the Panthers, who were shut out for the first time this season and were playing the second of back-to-back games after a 5-1 road loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. At 6-foot-9, Black became the tallest goaltender in league history,
The Panthers went 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Penguins finished 0-for-3.
Robertson gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 15:19 of the first period when he took a pass from Dewar on the rush, eluded a defender’s stick and whipped a wrist shot past Black from the slot.
Lapierre doubled the margin at 9:59 of the second period. Pittsburgh entered the zone 3-on-2 and Malkin passed to his left to Ville Koivunen. A centering pass from Koivunen set up Lapierre to score from in front of the crease.
Malkin made it 3-0 at 1:40 of the third period. Malkin controlled Lapierre’s dump-in attempt near the blue line, toe-dragged past Panther defenseman Gustav Forsling in the slot and beat Black with a wrist shot.
When Koivunen was called for holding at 14:01, the Panthers pulled Black for the extra skater but could not convert.
Robertson scored into an empty net at 17:34 for the 4-0 final.
The Penguins got good news off the ice as 19-year-old forward Ben Kindel, who had been hospitalized in Salt Lake City after a medical episode on a team flight, returned to Pittsburgh. Kindel, who fainted on the plane, could resume practicing early next week, according to general manager Kyle Dubas.
