Panthers pass Penguins on penalties, 3-2

In Pittsburgh, Sam Reinhart had a goal in regulation for the Florida Panthers, and he was credited with the deciding marker on penalties in a 3-2 win over the Penguins on Friday night.

“[Reinhart is] an unbelievable pro,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s completely unselfish. He’s just such a leader in that, so unselfish. I’m glad that he gets rewarded for it. So, in some ways, there’s no sacrifice to him because he’s still just scoring for us.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves in the win.

“There were a lot of PK reps; I thought guys did a great job,” Bobrovsky said. “I thought guys did a great job. Defensively, they protected me. They let me see the puck. It was good unit kills.”

The Panthers improved to 30-14-4 off their third straight win.

Jake Guentzel staked the Penguins to a 1-0 lead at 1:51 of the opening stanza.

The Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues hit off the power play at 4:52 of the first to knot the game, 1-1.

The Penguins dropped to 21-17-7 off their third straight loss.

“We have to stick with it; it has not been easy,” Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang said. “We’ve got some traction sometimes. At some other points, we get discouraged. We have to stick with it.”

Reinhart picked up his marker at 11:49 of the middle frame off the power play for a 2-1 lead to the Panthers.

“I think they had fun again,” Maurice said. “So, the coach has been grinding. You’re into January. We’ve traveled an awful lot. You need, sometimes, the spark.

“Having adversity in a game, being in the penalty box all night can be a real negative or it can be a real positive. It can be a real rallying cry. I think they had a little bit of fun going through that game.”

Evgeni Malkin forced the extra session when he scored with 42 seconds left on the regulation clock for a 2-2 tie.

The goal snapped a 10-game goal drought.

“I think it will be big for him,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Malkin. “‘Geno’ is someone, he loves to score goals. When he scores, I think it helps his own confidence. Nobody is harder on himself than Geno. He understands that we rely on him to produce offense for us. When he doesn’t, nobody feels it more than he does. It’s never from a lack of effort with ‘G.’ He’s a hardworking guy. He’s a real competitive guy.”

The extra session solved leaving the win in the hands of Reinhart.