Pens lose third straight

In Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Devils scored three quick goals in the first period on Thursday night and used that outburst to down the Penguins, 6-1.

For the Pens, it was their third straight loss.

“I just think, to a certain extent, the last few games, we’ve beaten ourselves in a lot of ways, a lot of different ways,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort. In certain areas, there’s lapses in the game where we’re just not diligent.

“I was really looking forward to tonight’s game because I was really excited about watching our team. Obviously, we didn’t get the start that we wanted.”

Nico Daws made 37 saves in the New Jersey win.

“Any save, any shot, it helps,” Daws said after his fourth NHL start. “When you can think back and say, ‘I’ve made a few really good saves tonight,’ it really helps. It helps boost the team’s confidence as well, when you make a few saves that maybe you shouldn’t. It helps give them a little bit of a boost.”

New Jersey improved to 18-28-5.

“We were all worried about an eight-day break,” New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff said. “How you manage it, how hard you practice, the time off. I thought, looking back now, we did the right thing. Went hard for a couple days. We gave them their rest period, gave them another day.

“In [Bratt’s] case, with not playing and then taking some extra days, although I think he skated a couple of those days, I felt his game was on cue.”

Evgeni Malkin scored the Pens lone goal.

The Penguins dropped to 31-14-8.

Bratt scored twice and Yegor Sharangovich  added a goal in the first period for a 3-0 lead.

“[The Penguins] were going to try to get back in the game,” Ruff said. “But I thought the answer to that late in the [second] period and all third period was that we settled that down to get back into position. We won more battles. I thought, eventually, we took some of their life away.”

Dawson Mercer extended the lead to 4-0 in the second period before Malkin scored.

“It starts with a good start, that would go a long way,” Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby said. “We’ve been chasing games here the last few. It hasn’t turned out great for us. So I think if we just start there and try to put a few periods together, we just have to be better. We’re not playing the way we’re capable of.”

New Jersey took a 5-1 lead before the end of the second, off a goal from Damon Severson.

Hischier scored in the final frame for the 6-1 final.

Tristan Jarry surrendered five goals to the Pens and made 14 saves before getting the hook in the middle frame.

Casey DeSmith made 16 saves in a mop up role.