Nick Robertson scored twice and Arturs Silovs stopped all 26 shots he faced as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Panthers 4-0 on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena. Hendrix Lapierre and Evgeni Malkin each added a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh.
The shutout was the fourth of Silovs’ career and his second this season. Florida starter Cooper Black made his NHL regular season debut in his first game. He faced 20 shots and allowed 4 goals, falling to 5-4-2 on the season. Pittsburgh improved to 4-6-1.
How The Penguins Won
Robertson opened the scoring 15:19 into the first period on a wrist shot, assisted by Connor Dewar and Kris Letang. Lapierre made it 2-0 in the second period with 9:59 remaining, set up by Ville Koivunen and Malkin.
Pittsburgh put the game away in the third. Malkin scored at 1:40, assisted by Lapierre and Spencer Stastney, before Robertson added his second of the night with 17:34 gone in the period, assisted again by Dewar along with Blake Lizotte. Dewar finished with two assists.
Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse shuffled his line combinations before the game in search of offensive production, according to ESPN. The Penguins entered the night coming off a difficult Western Conference road trip that included losses in Utah, Chicago, Colorado and Vegas.
Florida was playing its second game in two nights after an emotionally charged loss in Ottawa, according to ESPN. The Panthers outshot Pittsburgh 26-21 and out-hit the Penguins 32-10 but could not solve Silovs.
Cooper Black Makes History
Black, 25, became the tallest goalie to ever appear in an NHL regular season game at 6-foot-9, surpassing Ben Bishop, Mikko Koskinen, Ivan Fedotov and Mads Søgaard, who had each stood 6-foot-7, according to Bleacher Report. Black was signed by Florida as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and was recalled from AHL Charlotte on Tuesday after Jacob Markstrom sustained an upper-body injury. His only previous NHL action came in a Sept. 24 preseason game, when he made 14 saves in a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice praised Black’s performance in that preseason outing, per Bleacher Report. “I thought the game against Tampa was a fantastic tell for him. He looked efficient.
He was small in the right way. He wasn’t all over the place. He didn’t look like he was solely relying on his size to make saves.
We’re looking forward to seeing him. I think we’ve got a real good one there,” Maurice said.
Player Of The Game: Nick Robertson
Robertson scored both of Pittsburgh’s first-period and third-period goals, finishing as the game’s leading scorer with two goals and two points. His second goal, which came with 2:26 left in the third period, sealed the shutout.
Penguins Vs Panthers By The Numbers
Pittsburgh won 54.8% of its faceoffs compared to Florida’s 45.2%. The Penguins blocked 13 shots to Florida’s 10. Both teams went scoreless on the power play, with Florida 0 for 4 and Pittsburgh 0 for 3. Florida committed 23 giveaways compared to 15 for Pittsburgh.
What’s Next
Pittsburgh sits at 9 points in the Metropolitan Division standings after the win, while Florida remains at 12 points in the Atlantic Division. The Penguins are also monitoring forward Ben Kindel, 19, who was placed on injured reserve after collapsing during the team’s flight back from Salt Lake City on Tuesday and spending the night in a hospital for observation. Pittsburgh said it is hopeful Kindel could return to practice as early as next week. Pittsburgh leads the season series with Florida 1-0.
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