NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from two goals down and beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Friday night.

Bryan Rust also had a goal and an assist, Valtteri Puustinen also scored and Matt Grzelcyk had two assists for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry finished with 27 saves as Pittsburgh won for the third time in four games.

Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat scored for the Devils, and Jake Allen had 17 saves. The Devils have lost two straight after a three-game win streak.

Haula got the Devils on the scoreboard on a breakaway just 15 seconds into the game, and Palat made it 2-0 at 6:17.

Malkin scored for the Penguins with 3:50 remaining in the first, his 30th career goal against the Devils. It was also No. 514 for his career, passing Jeremy Roenick for 42nd place in NHL history.

Puustinen tied it with a power-play goal at 1:05 of the second, Crosby’s power-play goal with 6:39 to play in the third put the Penguins ahead, and Rust added an empty-netter with 36 seconds remaining.

Takeaways

Penguins: Pittsburgh went 2 for 4 on the power play, scoring with the man advantage for the sixth straight game — the team’s longest streak since a 10-game run in 2022.

Devils: New Jersey entered the game third in the NHL on the power play, but went 0 for 3 while managing just four shots in those chances.

Key moment

Crosby gave the Penguis the lead in the third period as he scored his 32nd goal of the season from one knee after he took a pass from Rust at the right post, where he was unguarded.

Key stat

Jarry stopped 19 straight shots after giving up two goals in the first period.

Up next

Penguins host Boston on Sunday, and Devils host the New York Islanders to finish a five-game homestand.

Against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, the Chicago Blackhawks dressed six defenseman who are all 23 years old or younger. Louis Crevier, 23, was the oldest player to play defense for Chicago in this one. 

The Frozen Four semi-finals were going on at the same time as this game. One of the teams, Western Michigan, dressed six defenseman who had an older average age than the Blackhawks had vs the Bruins. The commitment to youth is on full display for Chicago. 

One of the defenseman in the lineup, Sam Rinzel, is playing well beyond his years. He is one of the 20-year-olds that the Hawks had on defense. You'd think that he would be one of the guys sheltered on the third pair, but he was the number one for the entire game. 

Rinzel had an assist, but it was more of his defensive work that was noticeable. He can make an impact with his play in all three zones. In his sixth NHL game, he led the Blackhawks in ice time by playing 24:54.

That is almost three minutes more than Alex Vlasic who played 22:07 which was the second most on the team. Vlasic has been this team's number one all year long until Rinzel came around. Now, they form a wonderful pair that Anders Sorensen is comfortable putting in any situation.

Rinzel had flashes of this when he was at the University of Minnesota but you never know if it is going to translate at the game's highest level. It did for Rinzel and it only took a couple of weeks. 

How is Rinzel going to be when he's 25-28 years old? It's scary to think about the level of impact that he could make when he is in the prime of his career.

After the game, a 5-2 victory for the Blackhawks over the Bruins, interim head coach Anders Sorensen spoke highly of his young defense unit dressed in that game.

 “Give them a lot of credit,” Sorensen said when asked about them being so young together. He knows it can be difficult to be impactful at this level with such a limited amount of experience. 

“Yeah, that’s a young D-core," Sorenson continued on his group. "I think they held together well. It’s not easy to come in here and play against [Pastrnak] and some of these guys. They did a good job, they hung in there”. 

There is a lot of growth still coming with this group. They won't continue to dress six defensemen under 23, but a good veteran or two will help them grow. 

The fact that Sam Rinzel is already capable of leading a blue line in the NHL speaks volumes about how well he can play. His ability to shut down the opposition and make waves in the offensive zone is the best on the team at this time. 

If Levshunov can match Rinzel's level of play, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Tons of other young defensemen are right there with them in the organization. Good times are ahead for Chicago. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading into Newark, New Jersey with a bit of a different look for their forward group.

After some season-ending injuries for a group of forwards - including Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Nieto, Tommy Novak, and Rutger McGroarty - the Penguins will turn to younger faces who have been up and down between the NHL and AHL levels this season.

Forwards Vasily Ponomarev, Emil Bemstrom, and Valtteri Puustinen were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) - Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate - on Friday, and they all figure to slot into the lineup when the Penguins square off against the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

Ponomarev sees the value in his time spent in the AHL, and he looks forward to the opportunity to show that players can transition well to the NHL from that level.

"I just want to show that the AHL is a good league where you can develop and turn into an NHL player," Ponomarev said.

Head coach Mike Sullivan wants to see Ponomarev play to his strengths, which includes a simplistic, energy-driven game. 

"We just want him to bring the game that sets him up for success," Sullivan said. "He's a good energy guy. I think has the potential to be tough to play against, he's gritty, he's an effort-driven guy, and when he plays with energy, plays a simple, smart game, I think he can be an effective player."

Tristan Jarry will get the start in goal. Here is the rest of the lineup for the Penguins:

Ville Koivunen - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Connor Dewar - Kevin Hayes - Valtteri Puustinen 
Joona Koppanen - Vasily Ponomarev - Emil Bemstrom

Matt Grzelcyk - Kris Letang 
Conor Timmins - Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves - Ryan Shea

Even In Passing, Shero Leaves Legacy On Penguins OrganizationIt's hard to talk about the Sidney Crosby-era

The Devils have clinched a postseason berth after missing last season with a heavily depleted roster, and they currently sit third in Metropolitan Division behind the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, which have been without star forward Jack Hughes and top defenseman Dougie Hamilton, both out for the rest of the regular season.

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The path to the Buffalo Sabres for Zach Benson has been similar to many of the club’s high draft picks, with limited or no time in the minors before being pressed into duty in the NHL. The talented and speedy winger played in a depth role as an 18-year-old, and late in his second season with the Sabres, he is making up for his lack of stature with a high level of effort.

"(Zach) he's always around the net making plays and doing his thing, winning battles," Sabres forward Peyton Krebs said of Benson late last month. "It's good to see. That's how we want to build guys coming into our organization with those foundational details and if we continue to do that, we're going to have success."

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Benson took advantage of an injury to Matthew Savoie at the Sabres 2023 development camp and impressed enough in the pre-season to make the club and burn the first year of his entry-level contract instead of returning him to Wenatchee of the Western Hockey League. His rookie season was streaky, but the youngster ended up with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists), playing mostly in a third and fourth line role.

The Chilliwack, BC native filled a similar role, drifting up and down the lineup until last month, when Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff placed Benson on the top line with rookie Jiri Kulich and leading scorer Tage Thompson. In spite of being goalless in 13 games, the 19-year-old has been effective at being a facilitator and doing some of the dirty work down low against bigger players and helped Buffalo in their recent success.

"I think his tenacity on the puck. He's a little rat. I love the way he plays. He's hard working. He moves his feet. Doesn't matter the size of the guy, he's going against, he's going to come out with the puck," Thompson said. "When I'm playing with him, I just try to put it in areas where he's going to be able to get it...... He's got really good hands and vision. So pair that with his work ethic, he's a lot of fun to play with."

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