Penguins hand Devils second straight loss

[November 23, 2019]  Jared McCann and John Marino scored in a 25-second span early in the third period Friday to help the Pittsburgh Penguins top the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-1.

Dominik Kahun and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Penguins, who had lost two straight but are 6-2-4 in their past 12 games.

Tristan Jarry, the Penguins' backup goalie, made 36 saves to even his record at 3-3-0.

Taylor Hall scored for New Jersey, which lost its second in a row.

Mackenzie Blackwood allowed four goals on 36 shots before being pulled in the third period for Louis Domingue, who in his season debut stopped all five shots he faced.

Kahun gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 7:51 of the first, his fifth point in four games. He carried the puck out of the corner, avoided defenseman Mirco Mueller sliding to the ice and swept in a backhander past Blackwood's blocker.

On a power play that carried over from the first period, New Jersey tied it 31 seconds into the second. Hall -- who leads the Devils in points but had created a talking point with just two goals before Friday -- scored for the first time in 10 games, on a rebound from the left circle off the short-side post.

Evgeni Malkin set up Guentzel for a breakaway from the right point, and Guentzel deked Blackwood before sliding a backhander past the goalie's left skate for his team-leading 11th goal and a 2-1 Pittsburgh lead at 12:27 of the second.

Bryan Rust had the secondary assist, giving him 13 points in 12 games.

Penguins center Dominik Kahun (24) scores a goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29)during the first period at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Penguins broke it open early in the third.

After Alex Galchenyuk fanned on a shot from the slot, the puck slid back to McCann at the center point. He moved into the right circle and blasted a shot past Blackwood's glove to make it 3-1 at 2:05.

Marino upped it to 4-1 at 2:30 on a screened shot from the right point. The rookie defenseman's second career goal gave him a four-game point streak.

It also chased Blackwood for Domingue.

--Field Level Media

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