Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist Friday as the Pittsburgh Penguins built a three-goal lead and held on to beat the New Jersey Devils 6-4 in Newark, N.J.
Sidney Crosby added a goal and two assists, Jared McCann a goal and an assist, and Brian Dumoulin and Colton Sceviour also scored for the Penguins, who have won two straight. Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang each had two assists.
Goaltender Casey DeSmith made 25 saves for Pittsburgh, which has seven wins in the past nine games.
Miles Wood scored twice and Jack Hughes and Jesper Boqvist also scored for New Jersey, which is 2-5-2 in its past nine games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves.
Wood opened the scoring at 3:01 of the first, batting a rebound past DeSmith’s left skate.
McCann tied it at 10:00 of the first on a power play. He roofed a Crosby rebound under the crossbar.
Dumoulin gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead with 46.8 seconds remaining in the opening period. His shot from the left point went off the arm of New Jersey’s Janne Kuokkanen.
The Devils forged a 2-2 tie at 5:39 of the second. Hughes got to a second rebound and, from a severe angle below the right circle, threaded the puck behind DeSmith.
At 17:36 of the second, Sceviour scored another Pittsburgh go-ahead goal. Letang took a shot from the left point, and Sceviour deftly batted the airborne puck on his backhand past Blackwood.
During a Penguins power play at 4:06 of the third, Rust made it 4-2 with a slap shot from the top of the right circle. It was Rust’s 200th career point.
Guentzel, from behind the New Jersey net, set up Crosby in the slot to make it 5-2 at 10:02 of the third.
At 11:34 of the third, Boqvist’s centering pass from the corner went in off Letang to close New Jersey’s deficit to 5-3.
With Blackwood pulled, Wood was credited with a goal when Dumoulin’s attempted pass from deep clipped off a couple skates and banked in off DeSmith with 1:36 left to make it 5-4, but Rust got an empty-netter with 24.9 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media