Penguins pound Detroit, move closer to playoff berth
This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW. com. The Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-16) moved one step closer to solidifying a playoff spot on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, defeating the Detroit Red Wings (39-27-8) 5-1.
Anthony Mantha, Rickard Rakell, and Noel Acciari each scored for a second-consecutive game and Stuart Skinner stopped 22 of 23 Detroit shots. All four lines scored a goal for the Penguins, who have exploded for 13 goals in their past two games. The Penguins opened the scoring with a hard-working shift by the team’s top line.
Egor Chinakhov carried the puck into the zone, but the puck ended up along the left wing boards. That is where Sidney Crosby dug the puck out of the scrum, tapped the puck to Rickard Rakell in the slot who then wristed a laser of a shot past Detroit goalie John Gibson’s stick side. The goal came at 4:10 of the first and was the 43rd time in 74 games that Pittsburgh scored the first goal in a game, which ranks fourth-best in the NHL , tied with Minnesota and Winnipeg.
The Penguins went up by a pair by simply outworking Detroit in front of its own net. Connor Dewar incessantly whacked away at a rebound caught up in the left pad of Gibson, then Evgeni Malkin came crashing towards the net and began poking at the puck as well. Amongst all the chaos, Anthony Mantha swooped in, picked the puck out of the scrum on his backhand, moved the puck to his forehand and then wristed it up and over Gibson to put the Penguins ahead 2-0.
The goal was Mantha’s 30th of the season and third in the past two games. Despite the Penguins ranking fourth in the NHL in goals scored, Mantha became the Penguins’ first 30-goal scorer on the season. Only Crosby (39 in 2005-06) and Malkin (33 in 2006-07) have scored more goals in their first season with the Penguins since 2005-06.