Penguins' Great Defensive Effort Propels Them to 4-1 Victory Over Red Wings - The Hockey Writers - Pittsburgh Penguins

The Detroit Red Wings (24-15-4) hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-12-9) in a Saturday matinée from Little Caesars Arena. These two teams completed a home-and-home set, as the Penguins defeated the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime on New Year’s Day. This was a textbook defensive effort from the Penguins, as they swept the home-and-home, defeating the Red Wings 4-1. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

The visitors opened the scoring 3:44 into the first period. Sidney Crosby found Bryan Rust with a cross-ice feed, and he ripped a shot over goaltender John Gibson’s glove for his 16th goal of the season. Then, the Penguins took a 2-0 lead 17:30 into the opening frame. Ben Kindel caught the Red Wings on a change, and he found Yegor Chinakhov with a breakaway pass, who made no mistake, beating Gibson through the legs. Pittsburgh took that lead into the intermission, holding a 10-5 shot advantage.

The Red Wings got on the board 15:06 into the second period. The puck rimmed around the boards, and Alex DeBrincat jumped on it with speed, sniping a shot upstairs, over goaltender Stuart Skinner’s glove for an unassisted marker. That low-event period concluded with the road team leading by one, holding a 9-4 shot advantage in the period, and 19-9 overall.

Pittsburgh Penguins Celebrate — Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby celebrates a goal scored in the first period with right wing Bryan Rust and left wing Rickard Rakell (Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images)

Pittsburgh completely shut it down defensively in the final frame, only allowing three third-period shots, while adding two empty-netters courtesy of Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar, securing the 4-1 victory. Skinner stopped 11 of 12 shots for a .917 save percentage (SV%) in the win, while Gibson stopped 27 of 29 shots for a .931 SV% in defeat.

The Penguins are back in action on Sunday (Jan. 4) as they travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets in another matinée. Meanwhile, the Red Wings hit the road to battle the Ottawa Senators on Monday (Jan. 5). Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.