Penguins score 3 in 3rd, defeat Devils in 1st game without Crosby

PITTSBURGH -- Evgeni Malkin had two assists in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first game this season without Sidney Crosby, a 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday.

Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain, will miss at least four weeks with a lower-body injury sustained while playing for Team Canada on Feb. 18 against Team Czechia in the quarterfinals at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. 

Arturs Silovs made 28 saves, and Tommy Novak, Connor Clifton, Egor Chinakhov and Blake Lizotte scored for the Penguins (30-15-12), who are 9-1-3 since Jan. 13. It was their first game out of the break for the Olympics. 

“This is such an exciting time of year,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “Every night, every point matters. Every point is so important. So, you know, you can’t take any days off. ... You quickly, quickly move on to that next game because they’re all coming quick. That’s what makes it fun.”

Jacob Markstrom, who played for Team Sweden at the Olympics, made 31 saves, and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils (28-29-2), who have lost five straight and seven of eight, including 2-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. 

“Just frustrating. Frustrating,” New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. “I’m a competitor. I hate losing. It’s definitely not fun right now. On the other side, you can’t just feel sorry for yourself. If you keep doing that, you’re not going to get out of it. So, just, we have to continue to get better.” 

Novak put the Penguins ahead 1-0 on a power play at 18:51 of the first period, tipping a one-timer from Kris Letang for his 12th goal this season and third in the past four games. 

Connor Dewar could have extended the lead on a short-handed breakaway at 2:26 of the second period, but Markstrom went to the top of the crease to turn away his wrist shot. 

Cotter tied it 1-1 at 4:56 when a one-timer from Dougie Hamilton went in off him near the crease. The goal was upheld after the Penguins challenged for goalie interference. 

“If you’re not scoring, deep down in your head, it’s stuck in there,” Hischier said. “But you should be professional enough to somehow handle that and be mentally strong. When the chance is there, execute.” 

Dewar then had a wrist shot denied on another short-handed breakaway at 15:44. 

“First and foremost, you want to kill the penalty,” Clifton said “And obviously, [Silovs] helped us out a lot there. Obviously, the four on the ice were good, no matter what. We got those kills. We got a lot of those chances. I think we talked about trying to go score. Obviously, [the Devils have] some of the best players on the ice for the PP, right? They're going to want to play offensively with the puck on their stick, and they might shoot a little bit. We're getting some bounces, and we're getting some breakaways out of it.” 

Clifton and Chinakhov scored 50 seconds apart early in the third period.  

Clifton gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 6:30 with a slap shot off the back bar, four seconds after Ryan Shea hit the crossbar with a snap shot.

Chinakhov took a stretch pass from Malkin for a breakaway before going backhand to forehand through Markstrom’s five-hole at 7:20. 

“I like to play with [Malkin],” Chinakhov said. “He, all the time, sees very open ice. I just need to skate on the ice, and that's it.” 

Lizotte scored a short-handed, empty-net goal at 18:01 for the 4-1 final. 

“I don’t have many words to say,” Devils defenseman Brett Pesce said. “It’s tough, you know? It feels like we’re in every game. We’re a bounce away. It just doesn’t seem to go our way.” 

NOTES: Malkin reached 1,392 NHL points (527 goals, 865 assists), passing Brett Hull (1,391 points; 741 goals, 650 assists) for 25th all-time. He had the secondary assist on Novak’s goal to factor on a game-opening goal for the 231st time, tying Mario Lemieux for the second-most in Penguins history behind Crosby (296). ... The Devils were 0-for-5 on the power play. They are 0-for-19 in their past six games. ... Defenseman Samuel Girard had one shot on goal and four blocks in his debut for Pittsburgh after being acquired, along with a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft, from the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Brett Kulak on Tuesday.