PITTSBURGH — As responses go, this was impressive.
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins blew a two-goal lead and lost in a shootout against the lowly New York Rangers.
They took out their frustrations on Sunday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights, dictating play throughout in one of their most thorough performances of the season for a 5-0 victory.
Arturs Silovs, who may well be emerging as the Penguins’ No. 1 goaltender, remained red-hot by posting his second shutout of the season. Silovs, who stopped all 22 shots he faced, has permitted only 16 goals in his past nine starts. The 24-year-old is flashing the talent that intrigued president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas enough to snag him from the Vancouver Canucks last summer.
While Silovs was flawless, he received plenty of help. Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Justin Brazeau scored for the Penguins, who improved their record to 2-0-1 without Crosby.
“That’s kind of a statement win for us,” Kindel said.
The Penguins are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, two points clear of the New York Islanders. They also have a game in hand on the Islanders, who play the Florida Panthers later on Sunday.
More importantly, the Penguins are now six points clear of the Washington Capitals, the closest non-playoff team to knocking them out of a postseason spot. The Penguins, who have the NHL’s fifth-best goal differential (plus-30), have three games in hand on the Capitals, who they play twice in April.
The Penguins have scored 11 goals in three games without Crosby and, after a sluggish first five minutes, utterly dominated the Golden Knights. Despite Vegas’ undeniable success since entering the NHL in 2017, the Golden Knights are just 1-7 all time at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins were airtight defensively most of the game, and their special teams were nearly perfect. Dan Muse’s team killed off both of the penalties it took and went 2-for-4 with the man advantage. Chinakhov’s goal, in fact, came only six seconds after a penalty had expired.
That was more than enough help for the emerging Silovs.
“I think you’re just playing more, you’re getting more comfortable,” he explained. “You just kind of get in a routine. And I think you’re getting that experience all the time. You already understand the shooters better, the league better, every single team.”
Vegas star Mark Stone was injured in a completely innocent-looking collision with Kris Letang in the first period. Stone, one of the Golden Knights’ most valuable players, did not return.
The play that lead to Mark Stone leaving the game in the 1st period. 🔽 pic.twitter.com/ww8Wfz14vA
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) March 1, 2026
Evgeni Malkin appeared to have his bell rung late in the third period but was able to return.
The Penguins will have a day off on Monday before resuming play on Tuesday in Boston.
10 postgame observations
• In a word, this was simply a professional performance from the Penguins.
Everything was working against them. They are without Crosby, they had to play in New York and travel home the day before, and the Golden Knights are a good team who had Saturday off in Pittsburgh. Nothing suggested a 5-0 Penguins win.
Despite the hiccup in New York on Saturday, I’m of the belief that Crosby’s injury isn’t going to kill the Penguins. In fact, I feel even more strongly about that after witnessing this performance.
• Rust’s goal gives him a seventh consecutive season with 20 goals. He’s one of the most consistent players in franchise history, and one of the more respectable ones, too. It’s not like Rust doesn’t have any talent — Ray Shero selected him in the third round in 2010 for a reason — but he was never handed a thing and doesn’t wow you with his skill.
He willed his way to the NHL. He willed his way into becoming one of the clutch performers in Penguins postseason history. And then, along the way, he willed himself into becoming a 30-goal scorer. The Penguins aren’t the Penguins, historically or currently, without him.
He’s one of the best leaders on this team. I’ve not been around many athletes who care about winning more than Rust.
• I’m running out of ways to describe Chinakhov’s release. His goal that made it 2-0 was a thing of beauty. He only had a split second to release the wrist shot from the slot, and that’s all he needed.
The Penguins are now 14-3-4 since acquiring him from Columbus, which is no coincidence. He has scored 10 goals in 21 games with the Penguins, all 10 coming at even strength. Imagine if they let him play on the power play?
• Then again, there probably isn’t any room for him on that unit. The power just keeps humming along, and the simplicity on Sunday was refreshing. Erik Karlsson simply threw the puck toward the net all afternoon. Rust and Rakell outworked and outmaneuvered Vegas defenders, and that was that.
No, it’s not always that simple. But there was too much east-west in the Penguins’ game in general on Saturday, and they were far more direct in this contest. Never was that more noticeable than on the power play.
• Speaking of Karlsson, he was outstanding in this game. He was also probably the Penguins’ best player in New York. There have been a handful of shaky performances from Karlsson this season, but that’s it. His steadiness has been a crucial factor to the Penguins’ success.
And he’s doing it in every facet. Especially with Crosby out and Kris Letang getting adjusted to a new defense partner in Sam Girard, the Penguins need Karlsson more than ever. He has not disappointed.
• I love the way Evgeni Malkin is playing. He only had one point, but he was everywhere, and more than anything Malkin was a physical presence. He was a bully all game. James Neal used to call him that, and when Malkin is playing like a bully, he’s at his best.
He delivered a huge hit on the game’s first shift and never stopped looking for contact. While his numbers are only modest with Crosby out of the lineup (three assists in three games), if you’re paying attention, you’ll see Malkin is very much putting the Penguins on his back right now. He’s been great.
Ben Kindel scored the first goal of the game with roughly five minutes left in the first period. (Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
• I almost never say this, but Kindel had a shaky game in New York on Saturday. Really. He’s human.
It came as no surprise that he started this scoring with a wicked shot from the slot on Sunday. That’s 15 goals, and while he’s not going to win the Calder Trophy — Matthew Schaefer has that wrapped up — Kindel will receive votes if he keeps playing like this. He’s on pace to exceed 20 goals and is already one of the Penguins’ best defensive players. He doesn’t turn 19 until April. Think about that.
• Maybe Rakell’s goal will get him going. While he’s hardly played poorly, he’s playing out of position and hasn’t quite looked right all season. The Penguins need him to start scoring more regularly.
• Exactly how good is Vegas? I’m not sure.
On paper, yes, they’re quite good. But the Golden Knights aren’t especially dynamic. I’m not sure what they have in mind for the trade deadline or how much ammunition they have to do anything, but I don’t seem them hanging with the Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars in a best-of-seven series.
• The Penguins’ schedule in March is outrageously difficult, so I’m hardly going to crown them a playoff team just yet, especially with Crosby out. But after this performance, I feel as confident as I have all season that this is a playoff team. They can still score without Crosby, they’re receiving exceptional goaltending and they’ve largely cut down on Grade-A looks for the opposition.
They are not without their flaws, but this is a good hockey team capable of doing damage in the postseason. Kindel called it a statement win, and while I’m not sure how good the Golden Knights are, that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.