Evgeni Malkin made an immediate impact in his return from an upper-body injury, scoring on the power play to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night and extend their winning streak to six games.
Erik Karlsson continued his strong play at home, scoring to stretch his career-best home point streak to nine games. Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte also found the net for Pittsburgh, which has now earned points in 26 of the 33 games Lizotte has appeared in this season.
Sidney Crosby chipped in with two assists, pushing his point streak to eight games. In the process, Crosby passed Wayne Gretzky for the second-most assists with a single franchise in NHL history. It marked Crosby’s longest point streak since the 2012–13 season, and he now has 14 points over his last eight outings.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner stopped 28 shots as the Penguins recorded their first six-game winning streak since December 2022. Pittsburgh has won seven of its last eight games after previously enduring an eight-game skid.
Luke Hughes scored on the power play for New Jersey, which dropped its third straight game and has lost seven of its last nine. Simon Nemec returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury, while Jake Allen finished with 25 saves.
The Devils’ lone goal snapped a stretch in which they had surrendered 14 consecutive goals, including three to Pittsburgh, nine in a loss to the Islanders earlier in the week, and two against Carolina.
Up next
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Devils: Visit Winnipeg on Sunday.
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Penguins: Host Calgary on Saturday.
