Kreider breaks tie late in 3rd, Ducks edge Penguins

ANAHEIM -- Chris Kreider scored his second power-play goal of the game with 1:27 left in the third period, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in their home opener at Honda Center on Tuesday.

Kreider buried a one-timer from the left hash marks after Pittsburgh defenseman Parker Wotherspoon sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty with 1:34 remaining.

"He's a premier power-play guy and he's been that way for years now," Ducks forward Troy Terry said of Kreider, who was acquired from the New York Rangers on June 12. "He just gives us a sense of confidence and that anchor at the net."

Kreider also had an assist, Cutter Gauthier and Drew Helleson scored, and Lukas Dostal made 22 saves for the Ducks (2-1-0), who won after overcoming an early 2-0 deficit for the second straight game.

"I like the way we played for the most part," Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. "I know we got off to a funny start there, we're down 2-0, but we don't get discouraged and we chipped away at it."

Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell and Anthony Mantha scored, Ryan Shea and Sidney Crosby each had two assists, and Tristan Jarry made 18 saves for the Penguins (2-2-0), who have lost two in a row.

Pittsburgh made it 1-0 on the first shot of the game after Brazeau redirected Shea's attempt from the left boards at 1:03 of the first period. Brazeau has four goals in four games this season.

Rakell scored on another redirection to make it 2-0 at 7:01.

"They're obviously super excited to play in front of their own fans," Penguins forward Bryan Rust said. "We tried to come out hard and fast, quiet the crowd down a little."

Kreider cut it to 2-1 with his first power-play goal at 9:42. Leo Carlsson passed the puck through the crease to Kreider, who had inside position on Mathew Dumba to tap it into the net.

Kreider has scored four goals this season, including three on the power play.

“I think tonight was the best it looked just in terms of flowing off each other," Kreider said of the power play. "I’m trying not to move too much, but they're just zipping it around and it's fun to watch.”

Anaheim tied it 2-2 with 35 seconds left in the first period. Beckett Sennecke swept a pass back to Pavel Mintyukov at the left point, and the defenseman brought the puck to the top of the left circle before making a cross-ice feed to Gauthier, who scored with a one-timer from the right circle.

Helleson put the Ducks in front 3-2 at 9:48 of the second period with a slap shot from the right point.

The Penguins responded to tie it 3-3 at 17:01 of the second. Crosby came off the bench and immediately got the puck on a short 2-on-1. He then passed over to Mantha, whose shot broke the stick of Anaheim defenseman Jacob Trouba before fluttering into the net.

The Ducks challenged the play for offside, but the call was confirmed after a video review.

"We had a good start and then it ends up being 2-2," Crosby said. "Special teams are going to be big and they were the difference tonight."

NOTES: Crosby has 1,065 career assists, passing Steve Yzerman (1,063) for ninth in NHL history. Crosby also passed Yzerman for the third-most assists with one franchise, trailing only Ray Bourque (1,111 with the Boston Bruins) and Wayne Gretzky (1,086 with the Edmonton Oilers). ... The Ducks have won 10 straight home openers, which is tied for the second-longest streak in League history. ... The announced crowd of 17,622 was the largest for a game at Honda Center in Ducks history. ... Penguins defenseman Kris Letang played 21:11 after being a game-time decision because of a lower-body injury. ... Penguins defenseman Connor Clifton had eight hits and four blocks in 18:21 of ice time in his team debut. ... Sennecke, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, has two goals and two assists in his first three NHL games. ... Mantha's goal was his first since Nov. 3, 2024, when he played for the Calgary Flames. He tore his ACL in a game two days later that required season-ending surgery.