Key Highlights
- The game was decided during the Penguins’ three-goal first period. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementConnor Bedard and Frank Nazar didn’t play in that matchup, but they were back for the Hawks in the rematch at PPG Paints Arena.
- It didn’t make a difference. The Penguins score four times in the second period, quickly turning a tie game into a drubbing.
- The Hawks fell 6-2 for their fourth straight loss and seventh in nine games. This time, the Hawks struck first, with defenseman Connor Murphy scoring off a Ryan Greene pass at 9:32 of the first period.
- But Connor Dewar tied the game less than two minutes later, the first of six unanswered Penguins goals. Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea led the second-period onslaught, and Dewar scored his second of the night at 13:59 of the third for a 6-1 Penguins lead. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBedard’s 66th career goal — only his second in 10 games since returning from injury (the other was an empty-netter) — finished the scoring.
- He passed Eddie Olczyk for the most goals before turning 21 in Hawks history. While the Penguins (27-14-11) won their fifth straight to continue their unexpected turnaround under first-year coach Dan Muse, the Hawks (21-24-8) are headed in the opposite direction in Jeff Blashill’s first season behind the bench.“I didn’t think our compete level in the first was even to the level it was the other night, but then in the second, I just thought we didn’t compete hard enough,” Blashill said.