The Pittsburgh Penguins scored four goals in the first period and cruised to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday night. Justin Brazeau recorded his first career hat trick while Bryan Rust scored twice for Pittsburgh.
First Period
Anthony Mantha opened the scoring at 1:38 of the first period, swatting in a loose rebound after Wyatt Kaiser fanned on the puck. Jack St. Ivany and Ryan Shea assisted on the play.
Rust made it 2-0 at 7:19, beating Spencer Knight on the glove side from the left circle. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang recorded assists.
Just 61 seconds later at 8:20, Brazeau increased the lead to 3-0, knocking in Mantha's feed from behind the net. The goal prompted Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill to call a timeout.
Rust scored his second of the period at 12:03, firing a screened shot from the right circle past Knight for his 15th goal of the season. The goal chased Knight from the net, with Arvid Soderblom replacing him after Knight stopped just three of seven shots.
Second Period
Nick Foligno, returning from a 19-game absence due to a hand injury, cut the deficit to 4-1 at 10:50 of the second period. The Blackhawks captain tucked in a loose puck from the crease, with Colton Dach and Sam Lafferty assisting. It was Foligno's first goal of the season.
Pittsburgh responded with three goals in a span of two minutes and 28 seconds. Brazeau scored on the power play at 12:20, sliding in a backhand shot from in front after receiving a pass from Benjamin Kindel.
Brazeau completed his hat trick just 57 seconds later at 13:17, tipping Connor Dewar's shot past Soderblom to make it 6-1.
Kaiser answered 13 seconds later at 13:30, launching a wrist shot from outside the left faceoff dot that hit off the end boards and past Arturs Silovs to cut the lead to 6-2.
Noel Acciari restored Pittsburgh's five-goal advantage at 18:48, scoring on a wrist shot after a puck rebounded off the end board.
Third Period
The Penguins were held scoreless in the third period. Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Chicago with one second remaining in the game, assisted by Jason Dickinson, to provide the 7-3 final score.
Goaltending
Knight made three saves on seven shots before being replaced 12:03 into the first period. Soderblom stopped 12 of 15 shots in relief, including a breakaway attempt by Crosby in the second period. Knight returned for the third period and stopped both shots he faced.
Silovs made 21 saves for Pittsburgh.
Special Teams and Notable Performances
Ryan Shea had three assists and finished plus-5 for Pittsburgh. Blake Lizotte, returning from a nine-game absence with an upper-body injury, had two assists in 15:18 of ice time.
Crosby recorded his 778th career road point, tying Gordie Howe for ninth-most in NHL history.
Brazeau became the fourth undrafted player to score a hat trick for the Penguins in the past 30 years.
Roster Moves
Chicago placed forward Frank Nazar on injured reserve prior to the game. Nazar sustained a facial injury during the December 20 loss at Ottawa.
By the Numbers
Chicago fell to 14-18-6 with the loss, their ninth defeat in the last 11 games. The Blackhawks came out flat after snapping a six-game losing streak the previous night with a shootout win in Dallas.
Pittsburgh improved to 16-12-9, winning their second game in three outings but just their second in the last 11 games.
Chicago hosts the New York Islanders on Tuesday, while Pittsburgh hosts Carolina the same night.