Bryan Rust had two goals Saturday for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who scored five times in the third to down the visiting Calgary Flames 5-2.
Jake Guentzel had a goal and two assists, Evgeni Malkin and Reilly Smith each added a goal and an assist, and Kris Letang posted two assists for the Penguins, who have won two consecutive games.
Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, making his debut for the Penguins, made 34 saves.
Matt Coronato and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the Flames, who have split their first two games. Calgary goaltender Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots.
It remained a goaltending duel until there was 1:38 left in the second.
That’s when Coronato, playing in his third NHL game, got his first career goal to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. During a power play, Elias Lindholm got the puck at the top of the slot and fed Coronato near the bottom of the left circle. Coronato scored on a one-timer.
Pittsburgh’s penalty killing had been 9-for-9 this season before that goal.
The Penguins struck quickly in the third.
Rust tied it 18 seconds in. He got the puck near the right post as it ricocheted off the end boards and banked it in off Markstrom for a 1-1 tie.
Smith gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead 23 seconds later. Malkin moved in from the left point and got the puck to Smith in the slot. From the right hash marks, he beat Markstrom glove side.
After a faceoff, Guentzel increased it to 3-1 at 5:50. Sidney Crosby won the draw to Markstrom’s right. Letang, from along the boards, got the puck across to Guentzel, who had raced to the far circle. He swept the puck in short side.
Malkin scored off a drop pass from Smith at 14:14 to make it 4-1. That gave Malkin six points in the past two games.
Huberdeau scored on a shot that went off a Penguins player at 16:05 to cut it to 4-2.
Rust added an empty-netter with 21.9 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
