JAKE GUENTZEL

NEW YORK — (AP) — The NHL suspended Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner for three games on Saturday following an illegal cross-check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Skinner and Guentzel had an altercation late in the third period of Pittsburgh's 4-3 overtime victory on Friday night. The two exchanged slashes before Skinner cross-checked Guentzel twice. Skinner will lose forfeit $145,945 in salary for missing three games. He was suspended two games in 2012 while playing for Carolina for kicking St. Louis forward Scott Nichol with the bottom of his skate.

The NHL has suspended Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner for three games for cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang started their 17th season together with a bang as the Pittsburgh Penguins raced by the Arizona Coyotes 6-2.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a crossroads following a fourth straight quick playoff exit.

Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal 4:46 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal 4:46 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 Sunday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two assists, and Chris Kreider and K’Andre Miller also scored for New York, which got its third straight comeback win after trailing 3-1 in the series.

Chris Kreider’s long slap shot bounced over Louis Domingue and into the net with 1:28 left and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 to push their thrilling first-round series to a deciding Game 7.

The NHL is wrapping up the first round of the playoffs with a rare treat.

Penguins star Sidney Crosby left with about seven minutes remaining in the second period with an apparent injury and didn't return. Game 6 is Friday in Pittsburgh, and a potential deciding Game 7 would be Sunday back at Madison Square Garden. With the Penguins leading 1-0 after 20 minutes, Pittsburgh's Mike Matheson hit a goalpost 3 1/2 minutes into the second period. The Rangers outshot the Penguins 11-10 in the first period, limited mostly to shots from the outside. LINEUPLindgren returned to the Rangers' lineup after missing the previous three games following an upper body injury in Game 1 of this series.

Filip Chytil scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Rangers Penguins Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins left winger Jake Guentzel (59) and right winger Bryan Rust (17) congratulate center Sidney Crosby on a goal against the New York Rangers in the first period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Pittsburgh, Monday, May 9, 2022. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) (Matt Freed)Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins were stymied by Igor Shesterkin during the regular season. After scoring just four goals against Shesterkin in four regular-season games, the Penguins have torched him for 10 goals in three periods over the last two games. He left after giving up four goals in the first period of Game 3 and then again after allowing six in two periods of Game 4. “I'm just happy we won the game and we can go back home in front of our home fans and compete again with the series tied,” Verhaege said.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to become the sixth player in NHL history to reach 200 career playoff points and the Pittsburgh Penguins throttled the New York Rangers 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Danton Heinen’s first playoff goal in three years just past the midway point of the third period helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

Panarin then extended the lead to 4-2 when his centering pass from beyond the goal line deflected off Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson and past Domingue at 8:02. He deflected Frank Vatrano's point shot past Domingue for his second goal of the series at 7:54. Copp got the Rangers on the scoreboard first again as he got a pass from Panarin and quickly fired a shot past Domingue from the inside edge of the right circle at 6:50. Guentzel got the rebound of a shot by Marcus Pettersson in front and fired a slap shot past Shesterkin at 8:52. The Penguins were without RW Rickard Rakell, who left in the first period of Game 1, and D Brian Dumoulin.

Artemi Panarin and Frank Vatrano each had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the best-of-seven first-round series.

Evgeni Malkin scored on a deflection 5:58 into the third overtime, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Jake Guentzel scored twice, Sidney Crosby also had a goal and the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a playoff berth for the 16th straight season with a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Guentzel scored his 36th and 37th goals and Crosby his 29th as the Penguins extended the longest active postseason streak among teams in major North American professional sports. Danton Heinen equaled a career high with his 16th goal, while Kris Letang and Brock McGinn also scored for Pittsburgh, which tied Calgary for the seventh-longest playoff streak in the NHL since 1967.

Avalanche Penguins Hockey Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, center, celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with the help of two goals from Nathan MacKinnon in a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Mikko Rantanen continued a six-game point streak with an assist in his 400th NHL game (he has 400 career points). Colorado opened a 3-1 lead with a pair of second-period goals scored 2:07 apart. Jeff Carter assisted on Guentzel's goal, becoming the 20th active player with 800 NHL points.

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguin.

Jordan Staal scored two goals for the Hurricanes, who snapped a two-game skid and won for the fourth time in 16 chances (4-10-2) when trailing after two periods. Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who fell to 23-1-2 when leading through two periods. Staal was left alone in the slot to fire in the rebound at 4:20 of the second. The Penguins were limited to five shots in the third period despite going on a power play with 2:09 remaining. SURGING STAALStaal, a decade removed from his time with the Penguins, has been on a scoring binge the past couple of weeks.

Andrei Svechnikov scored on a power play at 3:14 of overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes completed a rally from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Friday night.

APTOPIX Flyers Penguins Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) scores his 500th NHL career goal on Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored his 500th goal and Pittsburgh teammate Kris Letang capped a late rally to lift the Penguins past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime Tuesday night. Scott Laughton, Nick Seeler and Justin Braun scored during a second-period outburst as the Flyers took command. Claude Giroux also scored for Philadelphia, which saw itself on the wrong end of a signature Crosby moment once again. Laughton tied the game 57 seconds into the second period when he jumped on a loose puck in the slot and fired it by DeSmith.

Sidney Crosby scored his 500th goal and Pittsburgh teammate Kris Letang capped a late rally to send the Penguins past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is the latest member of the NHL’s 500-goal club.

Sabres Golden Knights Hockey T-Mobile Arena stands in Las Vegas before an NHL hockey game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, in Las Vegas. The arena is the site for this year's NHL All-Star game. The NHL All-Stars still aren't happy about missing their chance to compete for gold medals, but nobody was complaining Friday morning about the consolation prize of a sunny weekend in Vegas. The league and the players seem to be definitely committed to the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, but these All-Stars know the future is unpredictable. “I never would have guessed there would be hockey in Vegas 10 years ago, and here we are,” Knights All-Star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said.

Most of the world’s best hockey players are spending this weekend in Las Vegas instead of the Olympic village in Beijing.

Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski scored 75 seconds apart late in the third period, and the Dallas Stars stopped Pittsburgh’s 10-game win streak with a 3-2 victory over the Penguins.

The Penguins won the second game of a back-to-back and haven’t lost since Dec. 1 against Edmonton. The Penguins won five games during the streak on the road and can at least think about the team record of 17 straight set over March-April 1993. The Penguins also won 15 straight games in March 2013 and have winning streaks of 12, 11 and 10 games, all since 1999. The Penguins played a Flyers team ravaged with injuries and even more players in the COVID-19 protocol. I just try to focus on the game tonight.”The Flyers could have used more focus — and healthy bodies.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 10th straight game with a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3.

Garnet Hathaway scored his third goal in two games, Alex Ovechkin added two assists and the Washington Capitals spoiled Sidney Crosby’s return, routing the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1.

Several months after COVID-19 vaccinations were made widely available in the United States, vaccination status continues to disrupt professional and college sports.

Tristan Jarry had 26 saves, Danton Heinen and Brian Boyle scored early second-period goals, and the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in the regular-season opener.

Brock Nelson scored twice in New York’s three-goal second period and the Islanders advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6.

Josh Bailey scored 51 seconds into the second overtime to lift the New York Islanders to a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 5 of their first-round series.

The New York Islanders have evened their series with Pittsburgh by keeping Penguins star Sidney Crosby in check.

Brandon Tanev scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:36 left and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins say the NHL's COVID-19 protocols may have helped their march to a division title.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are happy but not satisfied after clinching a 15th straight playoff berth.

Jake Guentzel scored his 22nd goal 2:11 into overtime to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night in a result that clinched both teams' place in the playoffs.

Tristan Jarry made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season and Jake Guentzel scored in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each scored their 20th goal of the season, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2.

Brad Marchand had two of his three goals and set up another in Boston’s five-goal second period.

Kapanen scored two goals and the Penguins defeated the Flyers 5-2 on Tuesday night. Penguins’ players raised their sticks and saluted the fans in attendance following the win. Following a scoreless first period, Farabee and Kapanen scored 1:07 apart to open the second period. The Flyers will welcome fans back to the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday against Washington. The Penguins scored three goals and outshot the Flyers 13-3 to start the second period.

DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. “I thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby did not practice on Sunday, a day after leaving a team scrimmage with an undisclosed health issue. The team captain and two-time NHL MVP scored during an organized scrimmage on Saturday. Youre trying the wrong guy, Recchi said. Sorry about that.Crosby, playing alongside Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary, scored a goal for the black team during a 7-0 romp over the white team. The Penguins are about two weeks out from facing Montreal in the qualifying round of the 24-team NHL postseason.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association gave the go-ahead Thursday for teams to open training camp on July 10 in the next step forward toward completing the pandemic-delayed season. Players were allowed to resume small-group, voluntary workouts and teams could open their training facilities Monday. Groups of players began skating this week, while others were waiting for a firm timeline to ramp up for games. This year youre not going to be going into training camp and the first game of the season. The other 16 teams play best-of-five series.