In Pittsburgh, the Penguins got goals from six different skaters in a 6-2 thrashing of the visiting Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.
Sidney Crosby hit for a goal and two assists in the win.
Tristan Jarry made 26 saves in the Pittsburgh win.
“I think we were just playing on our toes. First game of the year, at home,” Crosby said. “I think guys were excited to get going and you could tell we had a lot of jump.”
The game was the season opener for both clubs.
Arizona’s Nick Ritchie hit for a double off the power play in the loss.
“We weren’t mentally engaged enough,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “We got better during the game, never quit, came back and worked hard. But need to find a way to get out of the gate with more urgency mentally. … We need to be way more stingy defensively. [Vejmelka] was unbelievable tonight. So we need to work on our identity.”
The Penguins took a 3-0 lead in the first period off strikes from Crosby, Jason Zucker, and Jake Guentzel.
Richie scored in the middle frame to get the Coyotes on the board at 3-1.
“They get the crowd going, the towels are flying. It’s definitely not the right team to spot them three,” Ritchie said. “But we came back and had a decent effort. It wasn’t great, by any means, but we fought back a little bit. I guess we’ll take something from it.”
Evgeni Malkin, scored for Pittsburgh to get the three-goal lead back at 4-1.
“Most of these guys have been together for a while now,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of familiarity on the lines … I just think the fact we have some stability and continuity in our group helps from a chemistry standpoint. There’s a lot of familiarity.”
Richie scored again in the third period, but Bryan Rust scored at 15:01 of the third for a 5-2 lead, and Kasperi Kapanen scored with just over two minutes left in the game for the 6-2 final.
Karel Vejmelka made 47 saves in the Arizona. loss.
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