Penguins 6, Ducks 4
Pascal Dupuis recorded a goal and three assists in his first game back from knee surgery as host Pittsburgh gave new coach Mike Johnston a warm welcome to the NHL.
Captain Sidney Crosby scored two goals and set up another while defenseman Olli Maatta notched three assists for the Penguins, who never trailed in the contest. Patric Hornqvist registered a goal and an assist, Brandon Sutter and Blake Comeau also tallied and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots.
Corey Perry recorded his sixth career hat trick and offseason addition Ryan Kesler collected a goal and two assists in his debut for Anaheim, which suffered its 10th loss in 15 visits to Pittsburgh. Captain Ryan Getzlaf and defenseman Sami Vatanen each added two assists while John Gibson struggled in his fourth career regular-season start, finishing with 33 saves.
Dupuis required surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL suffered on December 23, but he looked sharp finishing a pinpoint passing play involving Maatta and Evgeni Malkin 13:14 into the game to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead. Kesler responded during a power play 68 seconds later and Perry scored two goals in a span of less than 4 1/2 minutes to tie the contest 12:17 into the second period, but Dupuis set up Crosby’s second goal during a man advantage with 2:26 remaining in the session to put Pittsburgh back in front.
Comeau extended the advantage in his Penguins debut by leaning into a one-timer off a feed from Maatta 54 seconds after Crosby’s second tally. Malkin took a hooking penalty 19 seconds into the third period, but Dupuis set up Sutter while short-handed for a slick backhander 42 seconds later that restored Pittsburgh’s three-goal lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Perry completed his hat trick with his second power-play goal at 16:47 of the third period. ... Anaheim was 3-for-6 with the man advantage, while Pittsburgh finished 1-for-4. … Gibson allowed a total of four goals in his three previous starts. … Penguins D Christian Ehrhoff hooked Anaheim C Nate Thompson during a breakaway 11:13 into the second period, resulting in a penalty shot. However, Thompson was unable to fool Fleury with a backhand attempt.