Jake Guentzel scored twice, Rickard Rakell had a goal and two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the host San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Denied on a breakaway with just over two minutes left and the Penguins ahead 2-1, Guentzel put the game away by tallying for the second time after taking a stretch pass from Sidney Crosby and hitting an empty net with 38 seconds remaining.
That score secured the second win on a four-game road trip for Pittsburgh, which was on the wrong end of a 6-0 blowout against the Los Angeles Kings in its previous outing on Saturday.
Like Rakell, Crosby had a hand in every marker, dishing out three assists. Goaltender Casey DeSmith was just over four minutes away from his first shutout this season and managed to make 38 saves to improve to 10-11-4.
Sharks leading goal scorer Timo Meier scored an unassisted goal late to spoil the shutout bid. With the netminding tandem of Kaapo Kahkonen and James Reimer injured, Aaron Dell appeared in his fourth game this season and stopped 25 shots for San Jose. Second-line center Logan Couture skated in his 900th NHL game.
After posting a 3-3-2 mark on their season-long, eight-game road trip, the Sharks returned for their first home game since a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Jan. 18.
But the Penguins’ top line was relentless in the opening period, with right winger Rakell gathering a rebound of defenseman Jeff Petry’s shot and roofing his 19th goal over Dell at 5:52.
Dell kept it 1-0 inside the final 2 1/2 minutes by stopping Crosby on a one-timer at the far post. San Jose held a 10-9 shot advantage in the frame.
In the second period, on a clever play by Crosby, Guentzel scored for the 22nd time this season at 11:33. The top-line center skated around behind Dell but slid the puck back to his left winger. With Dell tracking Crosby, Guentzel easily pocketed the marker for a two-goal advantage.
On a hard rush in the third and with little time remaining, Meier roared in through the left circle, powered past Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Pettersson and shoveled in his 31st goal at 15:57 to give the Sharks life.
–Field Level Media
