Malkin and Crosby lift Penguins to 8-3 rout
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored two of four second-period goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins netted seven straight in an 8-3 rout of the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
Trailing 3-1, the Penguins rallied behind Malkin. He extended his point streak to eight games with a power-play goal, his fourth of the year. Crosby scored his sixth and seventh goals, Patric Hornqvist netted his fifth and Pascal Dupuis scored in his third straight game, also on the power play. Steve Downie, Blake Comeau and Craig Adams also had goals for Pittsburgh, which defeated New Jersey for the ninth time in 11 home games.
Pittsburgh's top-ranked power play scored three times, the fifth time in eight games it produced multiple goals.
Dainius Zubrus scored his second of the season nine seconds into the game, but the Devils were unable to win for the fifth time in six road games. Jacob Josefson and Tuomo Ruutu also scored for New Jersey.
Marc-Andre Fleury defeated the Devils for the fifth straight time, making 16 saves.
Cory Schneider stopped 18 of 23 shots through two periods before Scott Clemmensen relieved him in the third, making 10 saves.
The teams combined for six goals in the second period. New Jersey netted the first two to take a 3-1 lead before Pittsburgh rallied with four in a row.
Josefson scored a short-handed, breakaway goal and Ruutu pounced on a rebound in front, giving the Devils a two-goal lead.
Pittsburgh got a boost from its power play, scoring on a two-man advantage as Malkin's slap shot from the left point cut the deficit to a goal.
Hornqvist tied it soon after, ripping a shot past Schneider on the blocker side during a rush down the right-wing boards.
Pittsburgh jumped ahead with goals in the final 2:25, started by Adams who took a lead pass from Brandon Sutter out of the penalty box and beat Schneider on a breakaway. Crosby gave the Penguins a two-goal lead with 1:12 left in the period, converting a rebound while uncovered along the right post.
The Devils played Tuesday without Mike Cammalleri, who leads the team with five goals. Cammalleri, who signed a five-year, $25 million deal on the first day of free agency, suffered a jaw injury during Friday's shootout loss against Dallas. He played the following night in Ottawa, but did not make the trip to Pittsburgh.
Olli Maatta was in the lineup after the Penguins revealed Monday that the 20-year-old defenseman will undergo surgery next week to remove a tumor from his neck that could be low-grade thyroid cancer. Maatta, cleared to play until the surgery, is expected to return in four weeks. He had an assist in 18:50 of ice time on Tuesday.
NOTES: Pittsburgh killed 18 straight penalties after allowing six power-play goals in its first three games. ... Penguins' D Christian Ehrhoff played in his 700th career game. ... The Penguins continue their second three-game homestand of the season Thursday against Los Angeles. New Jersey returns home against Winnipeg, also on Thursday. The Devils scratched D Adam Larsson, while D Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) missed for the Penguins.
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