Penguins score 3 in 37 seconds, cruise past Oilers for 3rd straight win

EDMONTON – The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three first-period goals in 37 seconds en route to their third straight win, 6-2 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.

Anthony Mantha scored twice, Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins (25-14-11), who extended their point streak to six games (4-0-2). Justin Brazeau and Jack St. Ivany each had two assists, and Arturs Silovs made 30 saves.

“I don’t think you expect that. ‘Mo’ (Mantha) had a big shift there, he got a couple of goals and he gave us a boost and I thought we were ready to go from the start and sometimes it works out that way,” said Crosby, whose team was coming off a 4-1 win at the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. “Sometimes when you play back-to-back you’re into it and sometimes as the game goes on, you might feel it a little bit.

“But I thought we played all four lines and there wasn’t a ton of penalties, which allowed us to get in rhythm there and I thought that everyone contributed and that was a big factor.”

Jake Walman and Matt Savoie scored for the Oilers (25-19-8), who have lost two in a row and four of their past six (2-3-1).

"It’s obviously not the start to the homestand we were looking for,” said Edmonton captain Connor McDavid, whose team is 1-2-0 after the first three games of an eight-game homestand. “It was obviously not ideal, not a great start. Playing catch-up is tough in this League and you look pretty bad when you’re doing it. It wasn’t our best obviously right from the start.

“There’s 30 games left, we’re coming down the home stretch here. There’s no February this year, so it’s like we’re at the end of February. The sense of urgency has to go up in our group. The playoff race is really tight and we have to find a way to get points here, especially at home.”

Tristan Jarry made 16 saves for the Oilers.

“You always want to beat your old team. It doesn’t matter who or when, so obviously it always does mean a little extra,” said Jarry, who was acquired with forward Samuel Poulin by Edmonton in a trade with Pittsburgh for goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft on Dec. 12. “But I think we obviously have to change some things and get better in some areas.

“I think if I could keep one or two of those out early it gives us a better fighting chance.”

Mantha made it 1-0 at 2:20 of the first period, tapping in a cross-ice pass from Brazeau as he crashed the net.

Mantha scored again 22 seconds later when he took a pass from Brazeau in stride into the offensive zone and slipped the puck under a sprawling Jarry on a breakaway for a 2-0 lead.

“The first one was awesome. You kind of expect it, but usually it doesn’t go through," Mantha said. “And the second one, I was really asking for it because I knew I was flying down alone and it was a great pass, heads-up play by him.

“Everyone played really well, that’s a big team win. Almost every line was able to find the back of the net, our kill was awesome and ‘Arty’ (Silovs) was great in net. It’s a great all-around night.”

Crosby pushed it to 3-0 at 2:57. He deflected Ryan Shea's centering pass into the slot past Jarry's glove.

Walman cut the deficit to 3-1 with a short-handed goal at 5:19 of the second period. Mattias Janmark knocked the puck away from Penguins forward Egor Chinakhov at the Oilers blue line and started a rush up the ice. Janmark then fed a pass to Walman, who skated into the slot and beat Silovs with a wrist shot to the glove side.

Rickard Rakell extended the lead to 4-1 during a delayed penalty at 12:29, burying a wrist shot from the left face-off circle off Malkin's pass from behind the net.

Malkin made it 5-1 at 14:27 when he poked the puck away from McDavid in the defensive zone and broke the other way to slip a backhander through Jarry's five-hole.

Chinakhov put the Penguins up 6-1 with a snap shot from the left circle that bounced off the back bar at 2:50 of the third period.

“I thought we were pretty consistent tonight,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “The tracking, the reload, just the way we had numbers back, I thought our sticks were really good and I think as you go through the course of the year, there are different things that you can now go back to and I think for us we should be gaining in even more confidence.

“We know that’s a great hockey team over there, they have great players but on a back-to-back when we’re maybe a little bit tired, to be able to stick with the focus being on our game and going out and executing.”

Savoie scored from the right circle over Silovs' right shoulder at 13:57 for the 6-2 final.

NOTES: The Penguins scored their third-fastest three goals in franchise history. The faster instances occurred on Nov. 22, 1972 (0:27) and Jan. 26, 1993 (0:29). ... Crosby extended his point streak to five games (three goals, five assists). ... Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson returned to the lineup after missing the past five games with a lower-body injury. He was plus-1 in 19:58 of ice time. ... The three-goal outburst was the shortest span in which the Oilers have allowed three goals in their history. ... Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl was minus-1 and had four shots on goal in 19:17 of ice time in his return to the lineup. He missed the past three games due to personal reasons.