By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Penguins 5 Red Wings 3 – The Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered third period goals to overcome a two-goal deficit and defeat the Red Wings on Saturday night.
Phil Kessel paced the Penguins with two goals while Ian Cole and Carl Hagelin chipped in with two assists.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Henrik Zetterberg at the 13:31 mark of the first period.
Frans Nielsen increased the Red Wings lead to 2-0 on a goal at the eight minute mark of the second period.
Kessel responded three minutes later to cut the Pittsburgh deficit to 2-1.
The Red Wings regained their two goal advantage on a goal from Dylan Larkin with 1:46 left in the second period.
Pittsburgh’s Nick Bonino (2:05), Justin Schultz (6:28), Kessel (10:54) and Matt Cullen (19:19) each scored a third period goal to give the Penguins a 5-3 advantage.
Detroit’s goaltender Jared Coreau took the loss in net, stopping 32 of 36 shots in his NHL debut.
The Red Wings, who are now 11-11-3 on the season, will continue their road trip on Sunday night against the New York Islanders.
Record: 11-11-3 25 pts
6th Place in Atlantic Division (9 points behind first place Montreal)
12th Place in Eastern Conference (10 points behind first place New York Rangers)
3 points behind Washington for the last playoff spot
Magic # of pts to clinch a playoff berth: 117 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Atlantic Division title: 126 pts
Magic # of pts to clinch a regular season Eastern Conference title: 126 pts
Next Game: 12/04/2016 @ New York Islanders 6:00 p.m. @ Barclays Center
Stats: Goals- Henrik Zetterberg (5), Frans Nielsen (1), Dylan Larkin (8). Assists- Anthony Mantha (3), Tomas Tatar (5), Riley Sheahan (5), Danny DeKeyser (3), Thomas Vanek (7), Mike Green (10). Goalie- Jared Coreau L (0-1-0) 32 saves on 36 shots.
