Penguins rally past Red Wings, 5-3
PITTSBURGH -- Phil Kessel scored his second goal of the game and Matt Cullen was awarded an empty-net goal to complete a four-goal third-period comeback by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 5-3 win over Detroit, ruining the NHL debut of Red Wings goaltender Jared Coreau Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.
Henrik Zetterberg, Frans Nielson and Dylan Larkin gave Detroit a 3-1 lead through two periods, with Kessel the only Penguins player to beat Coreau to that point.
Nick Bonino, from above the right circle, and Justin Schultz, from the left circle, scored in the first seven minutes of the third to pull Pittsburgh even at 3-3.
Kessel finished off a feed from Carl Hagelin at 10:54 of the third to give Pittsburgh its first lead, 4-3. Cullen was awarded an empty-net goal with 40.9 seconds left when he was interfered with.
A potential fifth goal by Pittsburgh (15-7-3) at 14:41 was overturned on review based on goalie interference.
The Penguins are 5-6-1 when they trail after two periods.
Coreau, 25, an undrafted fourth-year pro out of Northern Michigan University, finished with 32 saves for Detroit (11-11-3), which had points in each of its previous five games.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Penguins, who won their second straight game after alternating wins and losses over their previous six.
Coreau got a baptism early when on the Penguins' second shift, Sidney Crosby's line manufactured a series of chances, ending with Coreau making a sliding belly-flop stop on a laser by Crosby from the inner edge of the right circle.
The rookie made nine saves before his teammates gave him a 1-0 lead. Zetterberg, coming down the slot on a three-on-two created when Crosby tried to bull his way through a wall of Red Wings at the other end, took a feed from Anthony Mantha and beat Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with a backhander high on the glove side at 13:31 of the first.
That stood until Nielsen whipped a shot from the left circle past Fleury and inside the far upper corner for a 2-0 Red Wings lead at 8:00 of the second.
Less than a minute later, Coreau stopped Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin on a short breakaway to keep his shutout alive.
Kessel broke up the shutout bid when he one-timed a threaded pass from Malkin inside the left post to pull the Penguins to within 2-1 at 11 minutes of the second. The assist gave Malkin a 10-game home point streak.
Two seconds after a Detroit power play expired, Larkin increased the lead to 3-1 when his shot from the right point got past Fleury, who was screened by Riley Sheahan at 18:14 of the second.
NOTES: Detroit G Jared Coreau, 25, a fourth-year pro, made his NHL debut Saturday. G Petr Mrazek is expected to start Sunday against the New York Islanders. ... The Red Wings recalled D Brian Lashoff and F Tomas Nosek from Grand Rapids of the AHL, but both were scratches. ... Pittsburgh activated LW Chris Kunitz from the injured reserve list and he was in the lineup after missing six games because of a lower body injury. F Tom Sestito was returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. ... Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury started for the second straight game for the first time since Nov. 19 and 21. ... The Penguins scratched Fs Tom Kuhnhackl and Jake Guentzel, and D Steve Oleksy. ... Pittsburgh, celebrating its 50th NHL season, honored players, staff and executives -- including six Hall of Famers -- from the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup teams in a pregame ceremony.