Penguins shut out Predators to earn split in Global Series Sweden

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored, and Sergei Murashov made 21 saves for his first NHL win in a 4-0 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Nashville Predators in the finale of the 2025 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday.

Parker Wotherspoon and Blake Lizotte scored for the Penguins (10-5-4), who had lost three in a row (0-1-2), including 2-1 in overtime to Nashville on Friday in the first of two games in Stockholm.

“I feel great, actually,” said Murashov, a 21-year-old rookie who earned his first NHL shutout. “It’s an amazing performance for the guys. An unbelievable start. Really great job on the (penalty) kill in the second and a really solid third period. So, it’s a really good response from the team from the first game.”

Juuse Saros made 18 saves for the Predators (6-10-4), who are 1-4-2 in their past seven games.

“I think the traction that we gained, we just let slip away,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “Especially the first period, I thought all the things that we talked about, that we did on Friday, we did not do. And we knew that they’d have a bigger sense of urgency.”

The Penguins scored three times on 11 shots in the first period while the Predators had two shots on goal in the period.

Wotherspoon put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 2:19 with a snap shot at the point set up by defenseman Erik Karlsson, a native of Landsbro, Sweden, past screens from Joona Koppanen and Danton Heinen.

“Obviously, on a personal level, it’s pretty fantastic to be able to have this opportunity,” Karlsson said. “Been in the League for 17 years and played four games over here. Pretty lucky to have that. In general, I think it’s a great thing to do. ... I think these games are more important than just the teams that we play for. I think, as a sport, it’s something that we need to do and need to do in a lot of the countries.”

Malkin made it 2-0 at 8:08, banking his fifth goal of the season off the left skate of Nashville defenseman Nicolas Hague from below the goal line. On Friday, he scored the opening goal from behind the net by shooting the puck off the stick of Michael McCarron and in off Saros’ back.

Crosby extended the lead to 3-0 at 10:13 with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle on a heavy rebound of a shot from Kris Letang for his 12th goal this season and first in four career regular-season games played outside of North America.

Pittsburgh is 116-10-6 when Crosby and Malkin score in the same game.

"I think we were pretty motivated coming off the last game, the way it finished," Crosby said of the game Friday when Nashville tied it with 1:10 left in regulation. "Didn't feel like we played our best and to have it finish the way it did, I think we were just motivated to bounce back. I thought it showed."

The Predators thought they scored a power-play goal at 7:46 of the second period when Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista converged in the crease to push the puck past Murashov, but it was immediately waved off for goalie interference.

Nashville was 0-for-4 on the power play.

“Slow start,” said Forsberg, who is from Ostervala, Sweden. “Obviously, they got one and then got the second off our own leg again. Obviously, it kind of put ourselves in a hole, three down into the second period. ... Had opportunities to step up. We didn’t take them.”

Lizotte scored an empty-net goal at 17:12 of the third period for the 4-0 final.

NOTES: Forsberg had one shot on goal and six hits in 20:42 of ice time in his 800th NHL game. He scored a tying goal with 1:10 remaining in the third period Friday before Steven Stamkos won it for Nashville 44 seconds into overtime. ... Murashov is the second goalie to debut with the Penguins and have a shutout in his first NHL win, joining Jeff Zatkoff (Nov. 2, 2013). He is the third goalie in NHL history to have his first win during a regular-season game played overseas, along with Jonas Hiller (Sept. 29, 2007) and Jonathan Bernier (Sept. 29, 2007) in the 2007 Premiere Series in London, England. ... Pittsburgh is the third team to score three goals in the opening period of a regular-season game played outside North America, joining the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Global Series on Nov. 1, 2024, and the Ottawa Senators in the 2023 Global Series on Nov. 16, 2023. ... Penguins forward Ville Koivunen did not play with a lower-body injury sustained Friday. He is day to day.