MONTREAL (AP) The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 9-2 on Thursday night thanks to three goals from Bryan Rust and six more goals in the third period.
For his sixth career hat-trick, Rust scored twice in the second period and once more halfway through the third. For Pittsburgh, Rickard Rakell recorded two goals and two assists.
As the Bell Centre crowd jeered and dispersed early, Kris Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Nieto, and Noel Acciari also scored in the third.
With three assists, Sidney Crosby surpassed Gordie Howe (1,023) for sixth most with one NHL team and reached 1,026 in his career.
After giving up five goals in Pittsburgh’s 6-2 loss to Colorado on Tuesday, Tristan Jarry recovered to stop 21 shots. Six of eight games have been won by the Penguins.
Montreal finished with goals from Joel Armia and Nick Suzuki to complete a 3-2 homestand.
After giving up three goals in the third period, Sam Montembeault was fired after making 20 saves on 26 shots in his sixth consecutive start. In relief, Cayden Primeau stopped four of seven.
Takeaways
Penguins: Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead halfway through the second session when Rust scored twice in a 3:24 span. The Penguins led 3-2 going into the third.
Canadiens: Several scoring opportunities, including breakaways from Christian Dvorak and Alex Newhook, were not converted by Montreal.
Key moment
4:18 into the first period, Letang set up Rust for a power play that tied the score at one point each. Two minutes in, Suzuki scored the first goal after a costly turnover was compensated for by the play.
Key stat
The rookie Montreal defenceman Lane Hutson’s franchise-record point streak came to a stop after seven games. Midway through the first period, he had a brilliant shift that set up Dvorak and Josh Anderson, but he was unable to extend his run to eight games.
Up next
Penguins: On Saturday night in Ottawa.
Canadiens: On Saturday evening, in Winnipeg.
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