This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.
In an offensive onslaught, including six second period goals and an Evgeni Malkin hat trick, the Pittsburgh Penguins (39-22-16) cruised to a 9-4 over the Florida Panthers (37-35-3) to inch ever so closer to their first playoff berth since the 2021-22 season.
The power play scored three times, Malkin and Erik Karlsson had four points(1G, 3A), and four other players registered two points in the offensive outburst. The Penguins have won three of their four games so far this week, scoring a combined 22 goals in the victories.
Just 20 seconds into the game the Penguins struck first whenNoel Acciari(12) took a beautiful tip pass fromElmer Soderblomin the neutral zone, broke into the Panthers’ zone and wristed a shot on Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, followed his own rebound, and then, almost in slow motion, backhand flipped the puck up and over an upright Bobrovsky to give the Penguins a very early 1-0 lead.
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