Penguins
Penguins Go Streaking for a Change, Prey on Predators

And now for something completely different …
Well, perhaps not completely, but not far from it.
With their 3-0 victory over Nashville at PPG Paints Arena Saturday night, the Penguins have won two games in a row.
That might not seem like a major accomplishment — mostly because it isn’t — but while it’s not quite unprecedented this season, it hasn’t exactly been routine for the Penguins, either.
Fact is, they’ve now done it just twice since completing a four-game winning streak Dec. 3, having also recorded back-to-back wins Dec. 17 and 19.
This victory raised the Penguins’ record to 22-24-8 and allowed them to remain on the periphery of the chase for the second wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
Both players acquired from Vancouver late Friday night, winger Danton Heinen and defenseman Vincent Desharnais, were in the Penguins’ lineup. Heinen worked on right wing of the second line with Cody Glass and Michael Bunting, while Desharnais teamed with Ryan Graves on the third pairing.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 25 saves to earn the Penguins’ first shutout of the season, was making his third consecutive start and fifth in the past six games.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead into the third period, and Bryan Rust sealed the outcome by scoring his 20th of the season into an empty net with 2:01 remaining in regulation.
The Penguins’ power play, which was 0-for-7 in the previous three games, got an opportunity when Nashville was caught with too many men on the ice at 7:58 of the opening period, but were not credited with a shot on Predators goalie Juuse Saros while Nashville was shorthanded.
Just two seconds after that minor expired, however, ex-Predator Phil Tomasino took a feed from Erik Karlsson and hammered a slap shot past Saros from above the left dot for his sixth of the season. Kris Letang received the other assist.
The goal snapped a six-game drought for Tomasino, who was acquired from Nashville Nov. 25 for a 2027 fourth-round draft choice and had been a healthy scratch for their 3-2 victory at Utah Wednesday.
The Penguins got another chance with the extra man when Nashville winger Cole Smith was sent off for slashing at 17:15, but could not capitalize.
Desharnais had two of the Penguins’ six blocked shots before the first intermission.
Nedeljkovic nearly had a costly gaffe just over two minutes into the second period, when he bounced a weak pass off the boards behind his net. Nashville winger Jonathan Marchessault grabbed it near the right post and got off an uncontested shot, but Nedeljkovic was able to stop it.
Sidney Crosby doubled the Penguins’ lead at 10:43 of the second, driving a puck past Saros from the bottom of the right circle after getting a deft cross-ice feed from Rickard Rakell. Karlsson got the second assist on the goal, Crosby’s 17th.
Crosby has scored in four consecutive games for the first time in three seasons.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have a day off Sunday. They are scheduled to practice Monday at 11 a.m. at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.